Kidnapped
by UnicornsThatGamble
Summary: When Sabo suddenly goes missing, his brothers Luffy and Ace are expecting the worst. To make matters worse they both get a text telling them if they go to the police Sabo will die. While trying to hide their secret from their friends at school, they are determined to figure out who took their brother before it's too late. HighSchoolAU! ModernAU!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first Fan Fic and I hope you all like it! I will update the next chapter once I have finished the one** ** _after_** **that and so on.**

 **This is the prologue, so it's super short and only foreshadows future events!**

 **(December 23rd 2015: I noticed quite a few grammar mistakes in the story so i'm going to work on cleaning those up!)**

"It's time for you to go."

The tall, large man with long hair glared at the person who had just spoken _._

"What! I'm the key to your success, how could you fire me from this project Roger? I've dedicated the past 10 years of my life to this!" he shouted in outrage.

The man now known as Roger, shifted in his office chair and sighed. He knew that his co-worker wouldn't take the news well. He brought his elbows up on the desk and rested his head on his knuckles.

"Your research is very impressive, however the experiments you are conducting are not." Roger said with a frown. The large man snorted and crossed his arms, temper flaring.

"You know very well that my experiments will get us to our objective faster than taking your _safe_ methods."

Another man who was leaning against the wall pushed himself off and rubbed his tattooed face tiredly.

"No, our research would turn illegal if we used human experimentation so recklessly. Even if they volunteered to do such a thing, the pain they would go through is much too cruel." he said as if he's said it a million times before. The large man ground his teeth together in frustration and in anger.

"Idiots! You won't get anywhere without me! This is the biggest mistake of your lives!" Roger slowly stood up and narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of accomplishment would it be if we created something to help people by harming them in the process? I'm sorry but we cannot allow this to go on any further. We can't let you continue to take things into your own hands without discussing with us." He then gestured the man to the door.

He was in a blind rage; he had wasted _ten_ miserable years in this damn company contributing _his_ ideas to make their experiments succeed. Now, they were kicking him out and taking all his results with them. He was about to threaten them then paused as he looked at a framed picture on Rogers desk. There were three boys in the picture. One had black raven hair and freckles. He was scowling at the person who was taking the picture, obviously not wanting to have his photo taken.

The next was a blond boy with a missing tooth and was smiling brightly into the camera with his arms slung around the other boys' shoulders. The third boy appeared to be considerably younger than the others. He had black hair similar to the first boy, and had a large grin that took up most of his face. He also had a scar under his left eye.

His eyes were shadowed as his frown turned into a sick grin.

"You'll regret ever making me leave, my research is the only thing that will make this project succeed and you will realize it in time." He suddenly spun around and stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

 _Im going to make their life a living hell._

 _What to expect next chapter; Ace is angry and Thatch is fed up._

 **Since I finished the next two chapters, the next one will be up fairly soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woot next chapter! This chapter is a peak at the childhood lives of the ASL crew. This lasts for about two chapters then we move on to high school. These chapters are kinda like the backdrop for the future.**

 **~Enjoy**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece**

"What's wrong with him?" a girl whispered to the friend sitting beside her.

The two girls, as well as most children in their 3rd grade class were wondering the same thing as a raven-haired boy was being dragged into the office. He turned his head and met all of their stares with a glare. Then he turned his head, wiped his bloody nose and walked out the door to the office.

As soon as he was gone, everyone started talking to each other like nothing happened. The kid getting into fights was a common occurrence in their classroom so no one paid too much attention to it anymore. However, there were two kids in particular who had enough.

"Hold still Thatch! Or the Band-Aid will go on all crooked." said a kid with a blond pineapple-like hairstyle.

The kid with large red hair growled. "Ace is so mean Marco! I only asked him why he thinks he's so tough all the time and he hit me in the face!" Marco sighed and finished applying Thatch's Band-Aid's. He dropped his arms exasperatedly.

"You shouldn't have hit him back-yoi. You know how badly he would hurt you if you swung back." Thatch rolled his eyes.

"He probably would have beaten me up anyway, he hates my guts."

"He hates everybody's guts."

The class grew silent once more as Ace entered. His face was cleaned from any blood and he had a tissue held to his nose. He didn't look up at any of the students as he swiftly walked to his seat alone at the back of the room.

The teacher walked to the front of the class while rubbing her head trying to cure a growing headache.

"Okay class, now that we no longer have any disruptions please take out your math book and flip to chapter 4." The whole class simultaneously groaned as they grabbed their textbooks. At the back of the class, Ace silently opened his book and flipped through the pages, uninterested.

"I don't want him near me."

"Just ignore him."

"Who does he think he is? His temper is the worst."

"No wonder he has no friends."

Ace sighs and stares at the textbook, ignoring all the gossiping whispers around him. They just didn't understand.

At the front of the class, Thatch keeps sneaking glares at the temperamental child.

 _I've got to tell him to stop doing this. He's making the class worry about who's gonna be the next victim and it's getting super annoying._

Ace seemed to get in a fight with someone in class every day. Yesterday, he tripped a guy named Kidd into the mud for kicking his soccer ball away and the day before that he punched a guy called Law in the stomach for teasing him and so on.

The teacher has to constantly interrupt her lessons to scold Ace for being so aggressive. (Not that the class cares that their math lessons are being interrupted).

Though Thatch is one of those kids who are grateful about the cut in their class time, he's getting annoyed at how grouchy their teacher has become, piling on more homework to make up for the time that they missed and snapping at any kid that does something wrong.

Thatch scribbles a note saying his plan to confront Ace after class and throws it at Marco's head.

Marco sends a glare to Thatch then picks the note up off the floor and reads it. He gives Thatch a thumbs up and they turn their heads back to the lesson.

 _Division, shoot._

* * *

When the bell rings, everyone in class quickly packs up their things and shoves it in their desk, ignoring the homework the teacher gave them.

Ace quickly crams his supplies in his desk and jogs out of the room before anyone had left.

Marco and Thatch exit the classroom and pack up their backpacks while keeping an eye on Ace. They planned to follow Ace out of class until he was out of the school. They would then confront him about his problematic behavior in hopes that he stops. They agreed that they would use violence if necessary.

Well, Thatch was thinking of using violence, Marco just wanted to tell Ace's parents once they saw them.

As Ace quickly packed and left, Marco and Thatch finally finished and took off after him, keeping a fair distance between them to not arouse suspicion.

As they walked the hallway filled with posters for different clubs, events and announcements, they were having a hard time navigating through the flood of students. After some difficulty, they managed to keep an eye on Ace.

When they anticipated Ace to turn right towards the exit, he turned to the left.

 _The kindergarten hallway? Why would he go there?_

Thatch and Marco exchanged looks and followed Ace towards the kindergarten classrooms, now filled with curiosity.

Ace kept walking straight down the long hallway, dodging kids and their parents picking them up.

He finally reached the end of the hallway and turned to a classroom around the corner on the left.

Thatch and Marco hid behind the corner as they watched Ace stand in front of the kindergarten door. He stood their waiting for a few moments and then a tall woman stepped out and gave Ace a sweet smile.

Marco recognized the woman from his kindergarten days. Her name is Makino and she's a helper inside the kindergarten classrooms. She has long green hair up in a ponytail with a bandana tied around her head. She was wearing a plaid shirt with long sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was also sporting a long jean skirt that went down below her knees and was wearing flats. She always treated him like he was special, praising him constantly and giving him treats and such. All in all, she's one of the nicest people Marco has ever met.

They both expected Ace to sneer or spit at her for smiling at him, but instead he did something completely unexpected.

He smiled at her.

And talked to her.

Without yelling or kicking.

He actually talked with a smile on his face.

They stared at Ace in disbelief as she kneeled to his eye level and ruffled his hair laughing. His cheeks blushed a little and he tried to straighten his hair.

The boys could hardly believe their eyes, they had no idea Ace smiled let alone could talk. He was always quiet and intimidating, not wanting to socialize. The person they saw here was not that boy.

They were jolted from their thoughts when they heard a loud squeal.

A little boy with jet-black hair runs up and jumps into Ace with a big hug. Ace looks a bit uncomfortable at first but then hugs the boy back. He detaches himself from the boy then kneels down to his eye level and talks to him. The boy starts talking really excitedly making large gestures to emphasize what he was saying.

Ace ruffles the boy's hair as he stands up. The little boy grabs Aces hand and pulls him towards the exit while waving good-bye to Makino. Ace yells at the boy to slow down but he pays no mind.

Makino giggles as she waves back then returns to the classroom.

Marco and Thatch stare at the two boys leaving with mouths hanging open, forgetting their plan. They turned around and head for the bus lines.

"What was that?" Thatch wonders aloud, shaking his thick red hair in disbelief.

"It looks like Ace isn't his true self in front of us. Who knew he walks little kids home after school everyday." Marco replies in similar shock.

Everyone in the class always notices Ace leaving class early and/or fast, but they had no idea why. But now that mystery was solved.

"Why the heck does he have such a horrible attitude towards everyone else when he's so nice to other people." Thatch asked Marco.

"I don't know, maybe cause he's already used to people ignoring him in our class-yoi."

"That's kinda sad no one knows what he's really like. It makes me feel bad for judging him." Thatch looked at the ground and kicked a stone absentmindedly.

They walked silently to the bus when Marco smiles and pulls Thatch to the side and whispers something in his ear. A big smile starts to form on Thatch's face.

* * *

Ace saw Thatch and Marco hiding behind the corner when he was waiting to pick Luffy up from class. He was about to tell them to buzz off but decided against it. Let them watch. He didn't care.

Usually days at school were extremely boring with the usual trip to the principals office. It wasn't his fault no one in his class could take a hit. They are all just weak.

Though, his favorite part of the day was picking Luffy up from school. Though the brat could be annoying most times, it made his day to see his little brother smile and tell him about his day.

Yes, it's true, Ace did feel a little lonely at school sometimes (Not that he was going to admit it dammit!) but at the end of the day it felt good to welcome the full attention he got from his brother.

So when Luffy ran through the class and jumped on Ace, bear hugging him, Ace gave Luffy a squeeze back.

Ace kneeled down to Luffy's eye level. "Hey Lu, how was your day?"

"It was great Ace! I made a dinosaur out of bricks that was this-" Luffy exaggeratedly shows how large the dinosaur was with his hands " -this big! Then I made a city, then the dinosaur destroyed it with his claws, then the city exploded like BOOM!" Luffy makes an explosion sound effect then throws his hands up in the air.

Ace laughs then ruffles Luffy's hair, standing up. Luffy grabs Ace's hand and drags him towards the exit.

"Bye Makino!" yells Luffy waving his hand like a mad man.

"Luffy! Slow down!" Ace yells at the boy.

Luffy ignores him and pulls him outside the school, eager to get home. Ace sighs and speeds up his pace to walk beside his brother. Luffy takes Ace's hand and swings it high in the air as they walk. Luffy starts rambling about his day and Ace's mind only takes up bits and pieces of the one sided conversation.

Everyday Ace has to pick Luffy up from class and walk home to their rather sketchy neighborhood.

The brothers live with their caretaker Dadan and their older brother Sabo. Dadan is a very large woman with red frizzy hair. She's very temperamental and is usually only around the house when cooking for the boys, otherwise she's out drinking at a bar. Sabo has blond curly hair that reaches the back of his neck. He's super smart and the eldest of the brothers, older than Ace by a year.

Ace is nine years old in grade three, Luffy is six years old in senior kindergarten and Sabo is ten years old in grade four.

Ace and Luffy both share the same father; Monkey D. Dragon while Sabo was adopted into the family at a young age because his parents had abused him.

The only difference between Ace and Luffy was their mothers. Both of them had died in childbirth and Ace decided to keep his mother's last name as a keepsake, Portgas.

Sabo goes to a different elementary school because that was where he was enrolled before he was adopted. He also walks home but since his school is closer, he gets home earlier than them.

Dragon is a man who works for the Devil .D company as a scientist in another city. He has only seen his sons twice in his entire lifetime. Because of this, he hired Dadan to keep an eye on the troublemakers while he devotes himself to his work. The Monkey brothers are now super close and depend on each other to take care of responsibilities. Other than Dadan, they have their grandpa Garp who comes to check on them on occasion to give them a good knock on the head and a lecture on being the troublemakers they are.

Ace looks to the side and sees a bunch of kids his age playing with each other on the sidewalk. He closes his eyes and exhales deeply.

 _I wonder if Sabo has lots of friends._

He often thought about what his brother's school life was like. From what he heard Sabo had quite a few friends that he played with at school. Not that he ever saw any at their house though, all the brothers were slightly embarrassed about having no parents and didn't want to risk explaining their situation to anyone.

"-I was having fun until Mr. Weirdo took my blocks away and told me to sit down."

Ace snapped out of his daze when he heard Luffy talk about his teacher.

"Luffy, does your teacher still make you feel uncomfortable?" Luffy made an exaggerated shrug and looked down mumbling.

"If he's still making you feel weird can you please tell me? Then we can fix the problem." He looks at Luffy with concern. Mr. Weirdo is the nickname Luffy has given his kindergarten teacher, Mr. Burgess. Ace really doesn't like him. Luffy keeps telling him how he looks at him really weird sometimes.

"Okay, thank you Ace-nii! Your the best big brother ever!"

He then hugs Ace tight and Ace returns the hug for a short time. He's not really fond of hugs, but he puts up with it.

Ace snorts.

"You better not let Sabo hear you say that, he'll have a hissy fit." Luffy gives Ace his famously large grin.

"I have the best big _brothers_ in the world." Ace smiles down at Luffy as they walk up the driveway to their shabby white two-story house. Luffy lets go of Ace's hand and races into the house shouting: "SABO!"

Ace runs in the house after his brother and kicks his shoes off. He heads into the kitchen/living room. The wide kitchen is connected to their large living room. There is a big couch in the middle of the room facing the living room half. In the corner of the living room is a fair sized television with a large window taking up the entire wall beside it. The kitchen has standard white cabinets and counters surrounding the wall with a small table in the center.

Luffy runs through the house, throws his backpack on the ground and jumps on Sabo who's sitting on the couch watching television. Sabo lets out a surprised yelp and falls off the couch. He immediately gets up and smacks Luffy on the head.

"How many times do I have to tell you Luffy, don't jump on me like that!"

"I'm sorry Sabo, I just miss you and got excited to see you again." Luffy pouts and gives Sabo his puppy dog eyes. Sabo sucks in his lips trying to stay strong, but Luffy's puppy dog eyes are way too hard to resist.

"It's fine Lu, just take it easy next time okay?" he says in the sweetest voice possible.

"M'kay!" Luffy then runs off to the kitchen in search of meat in the fridge.

 _"Just take it easy next time okay?"_ Ace mimics Sabo's sweet voice.

"Shut up Ace." And with that, he turns back to the television. Ace smirks and walks to where Luffy is. He reaches to the top shelf and hands the boy a cheese string.

"But I want meat Ace!" Luffy wines.

"You can't have raw meat! There's no one here to cook it, so you'll have to wait until Dadan gets home to make it." Luffy grumbles but eats the cheese string nonetheless while plopping beside Sabo on the couch to watch television.

Ace grabs a cheese string for himself then shuts the fridge door. He sits next to Luffy and switches his attention to the television. Wipeout was on and Luffy started giggling at the fat lady who fell off the first big ball. Ace felt a sudden poking on his shoulder and looked to see Sabo's arm tapping him from behind Luffy's head.

Sabo silently mouths his words to Ace, preventing Luffy from hearing them.

 _Did you fight again?_

Ace rolled his eyes and looked away but Sabo kept looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Ace quickly looked at Luffy who was distracted by the TV then turned back to Sabo.

 _How did you know?_ Ace mouthed.

Sabo gave him a _no duh_ look and pointed to his nose. Ace touched his nose and realized he still had the bloody tissue in it. Feeling dumb, he took it out and once again faced the television.

Two hours of television later, Dadan enters the house with groceries in hand.

"Did you brats finish your homework?" she asks. They didn't finish. They didn't even start. But they weren't going to let her know that.

"Uh yeah a couple of minutes ago." lied Sabo.

"You better be done or you won't get a touch of meat until you do."

"Whaaaat? Ace we gotta finish ours then, or we aren't gonna get an-!" Ace pushed a pillow on Luffy's face to keep him from talking. He's such a horrible liar and Ace wanted to eat. Luffy struggled under the pillow, his shouts of protest muffled.

"Ace, did you get into another fight today?" Dadan asks sternly. Ace averted his gaze from their caretaker.

"What? No! The guy was just annoying me so I hit him." Luffy took advantage of Ace's distraction and pushed the pillow off his face and took a big gulp of air. After he caught his breath, Luffy looked at Ace with puppy dog eyes.

"Ace! Did you get into a fight?" he asked concerned. Ace shrugged.

"It's no big deal, just got a bloody nose. The other kid seemed fine too."

"He better be fine! I don't want to have to write another apology letter to some snot nosed kid's parents!" yelled Dadan. Ace just looked to the side and turned back around on the couch to watch television. Sabo looks at his brother in concern, knowing that Ace is just an aggressive person by nature. He feels pity for Ace not having many friends because of this. He's about to say something when Luffy suddenly hugs Ace.

"Wha-what are you doing Lu?" asks Ace, surprised.

"You just seem like you need a hug." he states bluntly. Ace blinks down at him and Sabo laughs.

"Right you are Lu! Ace, stop getting into fights or Luffy's going to have to hug you all the time." Ace good-heartedly growls at Sabo. He leans back in the chair and relaxes, grateful to have his brothers by his side.

 _NEXT TIME; Ace thinks he's dying and time skips to high school!_

 **SEllen23: Thank you so much! I'm glad that it interests you! :D**

 **Poyochin: Yes, I was going for the suspense haha. And thank you, I was kinda unsure about posting my own fic but I'm glad I did it.**

 **Big thanks to everyone who faved and followed! Please review, I am a new author so that keeps me going!**

 **Lots of ASL brotherly love here, it was cute to write! Until Next time ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Just giving everyone a heads up that I will post about once to twice a week around the Monday area. I changed my plan because I realized how often I am away from the Internet. Thank goodness, this gives me more time to actually write this story.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece**

"Bye Ace!"

Ace smiled softly at Luffy, which quickly turned into a frown when he saw Mr. Burgess come up from behind his brother.

"Hurry up! Class is about to start!" he said sternly.

Luffy gave Ace one last look then he ran into class. Ace looked up at the teacher through narrowed eyes when he retreated to his classroom. Ace took one last longing look in Luffy's classroom before he made his way towards his class.

The closer he approached his classroom, the more the happiness seemed to suck out of him. Ace could already hear the whispers about him. He could practically feel their piercing states when he walked to the back of the class and sat down. The odd thing was, none of them were looking at him with hate, fear or scorn. Most of them actually looked at him with curiosity.

 _Did someone put drugs in their breakfast this morning?_ He thought in confusion. He got even more confused when he saw a bunch of girls giggling at him.

 _What the-_ his thoughts were cut off when the boy he fought yesterday, Thatch, and his friend Marco walked up to his desk and looked at him with big (and oddly suspicious) smiles. Okay, he was officially freaked out. What the hell were they doing just sitting there, smiling at him like he was their life long friend.

"Hey Ace, how's it going?" asked Thatch, still smiling.

It's official; someone replaced the whole class with weird drones. No one talks to him. _No one_ does, unless they want to yell at him for something he did.

"Um okay I guess?" He had no idea how to react to this. Were they making fun of him? Should he hit them? One of the girls had enough of their boring talk and shoved her face right in front of his.

"Is it true that you walked a kindergartener home after school?" she asked eagerly. He stared at her in shock. Is that what everyone was so surprised about?

"Uh yeah I do everyday." he said shyly. "I drop him off everyday too."

All of the class froze in shock then the girls did a simultaneous:

"Awwwwwww".

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Ace dug his face into his textbook and refused to look back up. Thatch pulled down Ace's textbook and was about to say something when the bell rang.

"Thatch! Marco! I suggest you go back to your seat before Ace or I force you there." the teacher said sternly.

Thatch and Marco grouchily walked back to their seats, stomping their feet loudly and rolling their eyes.

Ace hid his face behind his textbook once more not wanting to make eye contact. After deeming it safe, he snuck a glance over his textbook and made eye contact with Thatch. When he was about to glare at him, Thatch sent him an apologetic look. Then he turned around and resumed the lesson.

Ace let his mouth hang open in shock. He blinked a few times then shook his head to clear it.

 _I must be seeing things. Maybe everyone being weird to me is just a hallucination. Yeah, that must be it. I think the milk I drank today was two weeks old. That must be why I'm seeing these things_. He tried to focus on the lesson, but found he couldn't get rid of the fluttery sensation in his stomach.

 _Sabo and Luffy drank that milk, I hope they don't get sick too._

* * *

Ace managed to avoid Thatch and Marco throughout lunch and recess. He still didn't know if they were mocking him or if it was the hallucinations, but he knew he was in a mood to hit them if they came near.

He was still seeing things when a girl asked to borrow a pencil without a trace of fear in her. He didn't want to punch a girl so he gave her one and she went over to her friends giggling: "so sweet!"

By the end of class he was ready to leave. He kept looking at the clock waiting for the final bell to ring.

 _Maybe I can ask Sabo if he knows what's wrong with me._ Before the bell rang he was already packing his stuff up. He started tapping his foot impatiently on the ground, eager to pick Luffy up.

When the bell rang, he speed-walked his way to the door.

"Ace! Wait!"

Ace stopped dead in his tracks when he heard his name being called. He turned around and saw Thatch and Marco walking towards him. He didn't know whether to continue walking or to stay put. He wasn't given the chance to choose when the boys appeared in front of him.

"Um Ace, we need to tell you something important-yoi." Thatch shuffled his feet together and looked at the ground.

"We're sorry for judging you before Ace. After we saw you pick up the kid yesterday, we realized you aren't such a bad guy and that we were treating you unfairly in class."

"We kinda told the whole class about your kindness to make up for it. Most of them realized that they were treating you bad, and that was the reason you were mean to people." Marco took a step towards Ace.

"So to make up for it, we'd like to become your friends-yoi! Whadda ya say?" Thatch and Marco looked expectantly at Ace. But Ace just stands there, dumbfounded at all they said.

"So everyone wasn't playing a joke on me this whole time?" Thatch and Marco look at him, then at each other, then back at him again. They suddenly start laughing with Thatch doubling over.

"Of course not!" says Marco through laughs. "Everyone just realized that you have a soft side and wanted to see it instead of your cold one. Especially the girls." he nudges Ace with a sly look on his face. Ace blushes with realization that makes the boys chuckle.

"So how about it Ace? Wanna give us idiots a shot?" Ace stared at them, debating the offer. They were probably the two boys that hated him the most out of the entire class. Yet, there was something about having friends that made him feel...nice.

Ace took a deep breath and gave them a side grin.

"Sure!"

* * *

From then on, Ace had two best friends throughout elementary school. Since grade three, his school life got much better. People finally started opening up to him and realized how much of a good guy he was. Ace had apologized to all the people he fought and they accepted the apology with a smile. As he was aging, he also got more crushes from girls in his class, now realizing how cute his freckles were and how sweet he was. This landed him a whole lot of jealousy and teasing from Marco and Thatch.

Though Ace's school life progressed well, Luffy's had not.

The Monkey family decided it was best to move Luffy to another school. Though Makino was very sweet to Luffy, his teacher was continuously disturbing him.

Luffy was noticeably less quiet as the days progressed and one day Ace questioned him about it. However, Luffy just shrugged and looked away like he always does when he doesn't want to share anything.

Ace pretended he didn't know, but he knew it was Luffy's teacher that was causing the problems. He could hear snippets in Luffy's daily ramblings about how one day his teacher would stare at him for a long time and another he would subtly pull at Luffy's hair.

It didn't take long for Ace to realize the teachers disturbing intentions for his little brother. He hated that man an couldn't accept the fact that his brother was in his class everyday. Though he figured out what the man was, he wouldn't tell his innocent little brother about how disgusting his teacher was.

He marched up to Dadan and declared that Luffy had to switch schools. After some explanation, Dadan agreed that he would move to Sabo's school.

Though the whole family wanted to expose the man, they had no other proof other than Luffy saying he felt uncomfortable around the man. Any other evidence would be easily excusable.

As much as they hated it, they couldn't do anything.

Ace and Sabo were greatly relieved when Luffy moved schools. As the years went by, he made a whole crew of friends that were inseparable.

Sabo started walking Luffy home instead of Ace after school. Ace felt a little sad that he was no longer picking up his little brother after class, but quickly dismissed his depression. He didn't mind school so much anymore. He has friends that he could hang out with instead of spending his days fighting and alone.

After Luffy's big move, their future took a turn for the better. They enjoyed their school lives through elementary with great memories. Eventually when Luffy reached high school, Ace was in grade eleven and Sabo was in grade twelve. Each of the brothers gained reputations for themselves during this time.

Luffy was the prankster in the school. His daring pranks on students and faculty alike were legendary. One of the teacher's there, Shanks (wants his students to call him that. Don't know why.) rivaled Luffy in his pranks. Though Shanks pulled the better pranks, he loved Luffy like a son and gave him his prized straw hat. Luffy isn't all that great in school, and barely passed grade nine. Ace and Sabo scolded him for slacking off in school and made him promise to take his work seriously next year. He still has his group of friends from elementary school as well as some new friends. They were all brought together by Luffy, so they consider him as the leader of their group.

Ace is the popular jock of the school. Every girl seems to swoon at his charming personality, athletic ability and good looks. He joined the football team with pleads from Thatch, who didn't want to try out by himself. He was convinced into trying out along with Marco, and it turns out he was pretty good. Their coach, Mr. Newgate, took a liking to them and they have been star players on the team ever since. Admirers on a daily basis usually bombard Ace but his friends keep them in check. He has other friends, but Marco and Thatch are his closest.

Sabo is the genius of the school. He has a brilliant mind that puts others to shame. He got straight A's in all his subjects and had received the award of valedictorian when he graduated from grade twelve. He now attends New World College and is studying anatomy.

Now, the story takes place in the present time where Luffy is a sixteen year old sophomore, Ace is an eighteen year old senior and Sabo is a nineteen year old freshman in college. They may not know it, but this year will change their lives forever.

 **JustHopeForHope: Thank you so much! I love hearing that you like it!**

 _Next time: The Teachers are against the Will of D and Sabo questions the worlds driving skills._

 _See you in a week!_


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own one piece!**

 **Okay, sorry for the slowness last chapter, I just needed to get introductions and back-stories out of the way. The plot officially starts now!**

"Luffy!"

Said teen smacks his head off the desk and looks around in a daze for whoever said his name.

"Geez..." He rubs his head with a pained expression. "That hurt…" The whole class starts to giggle.

"Please try and stay awake during lessons Luffy. Your going to tempt me to draw on your face." said the teacher waving a marker around.

"Sorry Shanks! Shishishi!" Luffy laughs in amusement. Shanks turns around and finishes whatever he was writing on the board.

"How come your always so tired in class?"

"I'm not tired Nami, I just wanna do something that's actually fun." he replied to the ginger.

"Heard that Monkey." shouted Shanks from the front of the classroom.

"Sorry." Nami giggled and turned back to the front.

Nami is one of the people in Luffy's 'crew' that he met in his elementary years. She is what people would call gorgeous with her long orange hair and perfect body shape. She's the only one of the crew in his history class.

After another long and agonizing hour, the bell finally rang. He waits for Nami to finish packing impatiently, eager to eat lunch. When she finally finishes he grabs her arm and drags her out of the classroom.

"Slow down Luffy! The cafeteria isn't going to run away!"

"But I'm so hungry! Even though I like Shanks, his lessons make me fall asleep every time."

"At least don't hold on to my wrist so tight, it hurts." He lets go of her arm and apologizes.

They made their way to their lockers that are next to all the others in the crew. No one was there at the moment, which meant they were already in the cafeteria. They put their supplies away then grabbed their lunches.

"Look! There's Usopp and Chopper! Hey! Guys!" Luffy ran towards his two friends who were on their way to the cafeteria.

Usopp has long, dark curly hair with a long nose and has a knack for lying. Chopper is really small with short brown hair. He loves all things medical and aspires to become a doctor.

"Hey Luffy! How's it going?" Usopp asked as Nami came up beside Luffy.

"He's fine besides the fact that he fell asleep in Shanks's class _again_." Luffy rolled his eyes at her.

"Would you let that go? I couldn't help it."

"Luffy, you've got to pay attention in class more often. You almost failed last year and you don't want that to happen again." Chopper piped up.

"I do pay attention!" he yells, then mumbles: "most of the time…" Nami smacks Luffy's head.

"Whatever, we'll talk about this later. I'm starving!" Luffy gives a whoop of excitement and they enter the room is full of hustle and bustle. There are people everywhere pushing, shoving and yelling to get a spot. Luffy looks around the cafeteria then his eyes light up when he sees Zoro waving them over. The group navigates through the havoc then plops down beside the rest of the crew on the table.

In this group there's Zoro, a green haired kendo master and Luffy's closest friend. Sanji, a blond haired playboy who adores cooking and hates Zoro. Robin, a quiet and beautiful black haired girl who is very intellectual. Franky, a burly blue haired guy who has multiple tattoos on his arms and legs to make them look mechanical. He loves engineering and inventing. Brook, a musician with an afro that Luffy admires on a daily basis. Finally, there's ViVi. ViVi has long blue hair and had recently moved last year to the city. She loves to read and has a slight crush on Luffy.

"Hey guys!" Luffy says with a large grin.

"Hey, how's it going?" asked Franky. But Luffy was already busy eating his food, not hearing a word he said.

Brook laughs. "Yohohoho! Didn't expect anything different from yesterday."

"If it's going to be the same everyday, we're going to have to wait ten minutes until he'll actually pay attention to us." Usopp pointed out.

"Luffy slow down or you'll choke." Vivi told him with worry on her face.

"Don't bother, he won't listen to you" said Zoro, yawning.

"Dumbass, don't talk to a lady that way!" yelled Sanji.

"Whatever you stupid love-cook."

"What did you say sword shit?" They were about to start a fist fight when Robin spoke up.

"Please sit down, you are causing a commotion." They both looked around and sure enough, quite a few heads were turned in their direction. Zoro sat down in a huff and bit into his sandwich. Sanji turned around to Robin.

"Robin-chwannnnn I'm sorry to have made you uncomfortable! Please forgive me!" he begged.

"Of course I do Sanji-kun, just please don't do it again." Robin said calmly.

"Thank you! Don't worry about it any longer!" Zoro snorts and Sanji's curly eyebrow twitches in irritation.

"Look who's coming into the cafeteria." Nami whispers into Vivi's ear. They both look over to the entrance, as well as many others and see the most popular guy in school take a seat at a table with his friends. Nami sighs dreamily while ViVi and Robin blush a little.

Sanji crossed his arms in annoyance.

"What's so great about Ace? I don't understand why every girl has to fall over him." He grabs and bites his apple angrily.

"What's so great about Ace?" Nami says in disbelief, "He's only the hottest guy in the whole school. Not to mention he's one of the nicest guys around here too." She rests her head on her hands as she gazes at him from afar.

"Good luck going for him when the rest of the female student body wants to get in his pants." said Franky. And this was true, most tables with only females had gone silent in awe except for the occasional giggles of girls nearby.

"Well, it's not like ViVi has to worry about competition with the guy she likes." Nami nudged her while looking at Luffy who was still gulping his lunch down. ViVi blushed furiously and gave Luffy a quick glance before staring at the opposite wall.

While all this commotion was going on, Luffy was simply enjoying his lunch. He listened to their group fight over Ace with amusement.

 _'Does Ace even know how many people are dying to be friends with him?'_ He laughed remembering the ill-tempered little kid with no friends and compared him to the easygoing friendly guy now.

"What are you laughing at Luffy?" Chopper asked.

"Just remembering something funny." he says with a grin.

* * *

When the final lunch bell rang, Luffy quickly packed up his stuff and went to his next class with Nami, ViVi, Usopp and Chopper.

"I heard we're getting a substitute teacher today." Luffy looked at Chopper whom just spoke.

"Yes! Then I don't have to submit that assignment today!" said Usopp while doing a 'score' gesture with his arm.

"Don't get too excited, Mr. Sengoku is super strict when it comes to deadlines. He probably told the sub to collect them." said Nami.

"Well then, I'll just tell I was sick today so that he doesn't know." They walked into the classroom and took their seats.

"You can never pass up the chance to tell a lie, can you Usopp?" Nami says smirking. As soon as the bell rang, a very large man with grey long hair walked into the classroom. Luffy furrowed his eyebrows, the man looked familiar. _Very_ familiar in fact. He just couldn't put his finger on it. After what he deemed too much thinking, Luffy rested his head on top of his desk.

"Hello class, my name is Mr. Burgess I will be your supply teacher for the next month because Mr. Sengoku was in a major car accident." Luffy snapped his head up. Of course! It was his old kindergarten teacher! Luffy examined his appearance.

 _'Looks the same as I remember, though I hardly do remember him.'_ He left his old elementary school early after all; he didn't have that many memories of the place.

 _'I don't even remember why I left, maybe Ace didn't want to pick me up anymore?'_ Luffy shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't think that Mr. Burgess would remember him anyway so he just played with his pencil on the desk distractedly.

"While I do roll call, Mr. Sengoku has told me that you may all have an extra day to complete your assignments. You can work on them for the entire period if you want." The whole class erupted into cheers and some students high fived. Luffy breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't even close to finishing that assignment. Unfortunately, the project was still on his computer at home. He sighed inwardly.

 _At least that gives me an extra night._ So as everyone else was working, he continued to play with the pencil. Mr. Burgess looked down at the attendance sheet and did roll call.

"Larmen F. Micheal?"

"Here."

"Mergo P. Teena?"

"Present."

"Monkey D. Luffy?" Luffy never looked up from his pencil: "Here"

He kept rolling his left hand over the pencil and held his head in his right. He was waiting to hear the next name being called, but didn't hear it. Luffy stopped rolling the pencil and looked up.

And wished he hadn't.

Mr. Burgess was just staring at him. Luffy met his stare, yet the teacher didn't stop. All of a sudden the teacher gave him a little grin then turned back to roll call.

Luffy just sat there dumbfounded for a second.

 _Did anyone else see that?_ He looked at the students around him but they were all too busy with their projects to pay attention.

"Are you okay Luffy?" Still in a daze, he turned around to ViVi.

"Uh yeah, just remembered I left my assignment at home."

"Bummer... um, If you want to, um, you can look at my notes for the, uh, project." she stuttered. He gave her a million dollar smile.

"Nah I'm good, I already have all the info I need. Just need to type it out. Thanks a lot for the offer though ViVi!" A mad blush spread on her cheeks.

"N-no problem Luffy!" She went back to her work.

 _'Okay, so she didn't see anything odd, maybe I'm just imagining it after all.'_ He listened to the roll call for anything out of sorts but nothing weird happened after that.

He decided to himself that he was just imagining things, until Mr. Burgess was passing out worksheets. Luffy had his head down in his notebook and having nothing else to do, he started doodling.

 _Heh, this dog actually looks pretty good!_ He thought. With new determination, he focused on his drawing. He was suddenly surprised when Mr. Burgess slammed the worksheet on his desk, fingers lingering on the page.

Luffy decided to ignore it and continued with his drawing. Suddenly he felt a slight tug on his hair that made him shiver. He snapped his head around and saw the teacher continue down the aisle to deliver worksheets. However, he did not miss the disturbing glint in the teachers eyes.

Realization hit him like a truck.

 _'I just remembered why I left Ace's school.'_

* * *

He found himself standing in a long runway. There was no planes coming or going, it was abandoned. It was incredibly silent, he found himself straining to hear something, _anything_. He frowned at the emptiness of the environment. Suddenly, something caught his eye. He snapped his head around and saw a large bear.

 _'Shit'_ he thought to himself. ' _I'm so dead.'_ He tried to run but found himself rooted to the spot. With sweat forming on his face, he looked up to meet the eyes of the grizzly.

It didn't charge him as he expected, but instead stood on its hind legs and turned with it's back facing him.

 _'Huh?'_ His confusion deepened when the bear turned around to face him again, this time wearing glasses. He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows trying to decipher what the heck was happening. The cherry on top of this weird sundae was when the bear actually spoke.

"Arv, eale ia!" the bear said urgently.

"What? What are you saying? Speak up!" he shouted back. But the bear kept saying gibberish over and over again.

"Arv...Arv...wsle yp..." The bears words were starting to make sense to him now so he leaned in closer.

"Arv..ake up... Ace wake up! Wake up now!" Ace jolted awake in his seat and was met with the disapproving look of his teacher.

"Ace, please tell me you have talked to the doctor about your sleeping problem. It's becoming a major distraction." Ace scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Mr. Marshall, uh yeah, I have. He said this is as good as my narcolepsy is going to get..." Mr. Marshall grumbles and turns back to the blackboard.

"Should we get you a pillow sleeping beauty?" Ace snaps around to glare at Thatch.

"I would love a pillow Thatch, maybe I can use the one on your head. It looks very plush." he snickers.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or offended."

"You should be offended-yoi. You need a haircut." Marco adds.

"Excuse me? You say I need a haircut? Look who's talking pineapple." Thatch teases. Ace and Thatch start laughing at the realization. Marco pouts as the bell rings, signaling the school day is over. As they were walking out the door, Ace heard his name being called.

"Mr. Portgas!" he cringed knowing what was coming. He slowly made his way to Mr. Marshall's desk and looked him in the eye.

"Yes Mr. Marshall?"

"Your narcolepsy is a problem in this class, if you don't pull yourself together i'm going to have to move you to applied classes. You keep missing whatever information I tell to the class."

"But I always pull through don't I? My marks aren't the best, but they aren't too bad either." he countered.

"Don't get a big head thinking that you know everything. Your lucky I didn't kick you out of the class already for this."

 _'I know you hate me, just frigging kick me out already!'_ Ace thought bitterly.

"Sir, I can assure you that I don't know everything. I just catch up fast."

"You're lucky you can catch up. If I see one bad grade your headed straight for applied, am I clear?" he gave Ace a look that could rot every tree in the vicinity.

"Yes sir." he said grudgingly. Ace left the classroom and met up with Thatch and Marco who were waiting outside the door.

"Why the hell does he always give me a hard time? I don't even do badly in class! He just enjoys tormenting me." Ace complained. Marco smacked him on the shoulder.

"Bah he's just weird like that-yoi. Don't know why he does that to you. Probably just wants to let his stress out on someone." Ace shakes his head and unlocks his locker. That one damn teacher has always tormented his high school years. Now that he thinks of it, he's also seen him occasionally at his elementary school. He's like a leech sucking out his happiness.

 _'I only have him for one class this year anyway, I can put up with it.'_

He puts his backpack on the ground next to him while he grabs his homework from his locker. Suddenly, he hears a slam next to him and inwardly groans. He knows who's next to him. Bellamy, a guy in a couple of his classes who likes to complain about the way Ace carries himself.

 _'Cue the daily annoyance.'_ He didn't feel like dealing with Bellamy so he just continued to take his books from his locker.

"Hey Portgas! You think you're too cool to pay attention to me? Hey! I'm talking to you pussy!" Bellamy teased. Ace heaved a big sigh.

"What do you want Bellamy?"

"I just wanted you to know that you won't last very long on the football team if you keep up that snotty attitude of yours, thinking you're all high and mighty." he says in disgust.

 _'It seems like the same thing everyday.'_ Ace thinks tiredly.

"Bellamy I'm sorry you didn't make the team, but you don't have to snap at me for getting your position. I've kept my attitude in check actually, thank you very much." With that, he slammed his locker closed and followed Thatch and Marco to football practice.

"That guy really needs to get a life if bugging you is the best thing he's gotta do all day." said Marco as they entered the gym.

"Do I really have a bad attitude guys? Everyone seems to be telling me that these days." Ace says gloomily.

"What is this I hear about bad attitude?"

The three teens turn to look up at their football coach and teacher, Coach Newgate.

"Ace is starting to think that he's a diva cause that's what people are saying about him." Thatch answers. Ace looks at the ground, suddenly self-conscious.

"Ace my boy, you are probably one of the most selfless people I have ever met. Whoever says otherwise needs to get their head out of the clouds." They all start to chuckle at the humor. Ace straightens his back and looks his teacher in the eye.

"Thanks coach, I needed to hear that."

"No problem my son! Now go and give me twenty! We need to be prepared for the big game coming up!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Yeah yeah Luffy I won't forget...yeah I know...okay... talk to you later Lu, bye!" Sabo hung up his cell phone and got into his run down blue convertible.

 _'Can't I just go home from college once in my life without making any pit stops?'_ Usually just as Sabo is about to enter his car, Luffy calls exactly at the same time everyday to ask him to pick up anything from meat to a firework. This time it was a wrench.

 _'What kind of prank is it this time?'_ He thought as he pulled onto the road. After stopping at a light, Sabo flipped through the radio stations looking for something to listen to. Just as the light turned green, he settled on a punk station and cranked it up. Sabo hit the gas and sped down the road, singing the song out loud. Suddenly, a black van being driven by a bulky figure speeds out of a parking lot and cuts right in front of him.

 _'What the-'_ his thoughts were abruptly cut off as he jammed on the breaks. He sat there in shock while gasping for breath when the van sped away. Heart still racing, he started the gas and continued his way. This time slower.

 _'That psycho almost killed me, even worse, almost damaged my car!'_ he thought in horror. Nothing (except his brothers of course) meant more to him than his car. He didn't let anyone drive it and is very wary when it comes to its hygiene.

 _'I've got to tell Ace and Luffy when I get home!'_

* * *

Ace was just walking into their driveway from practice when he heard yells within the house. Suddenly feeling worried, he jogged up to the door and flung it open. Ace kicked off his shoes, dropped his bag and ran down the hallway to the kitchen where his brothers were.

"Ace!" He looked down to see Luffy running towards him with wide eyes.

"Sabo almost got in a car accident!" Ace's eyes got as big as Luffy's.

"WHAT!?" He turned toward Sabo who was sipping tea he made for himself.

"It's fine, the jerk just pulled in front of me too fast. He's lucky he didn't scratch my car or I would have killed him myself." Sabo says gripping his mug tight.

"Jeez, always worried about your car and nothing else. One day you're probably going to jump in front of an incoming bullet to prevent it from denting your precious baby." Ace snickered.

"You know what, that's probably true." Sabo laughs sheepishly.

"Hey! I just remembered!" Sabo dug through his pockets and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. "I found this laying on the ground at the college, we can add it to our apartment fund!" Ace and Luffy's expressions lit up.

"Give it to me! I'll put it into the jar!" Luffy shouted excitedly. Sabo handed Luffy the money and watched as he scampered off to their room.

"Awesome! We're so close to having five thousand dollars," said Ace.

The apartment fund is a jar underneath their bathroom sink filled with cash and coins saved up to purchase an apartment on their own. They had been saving up since they were kids, wanting to leave their caretakers house and live with each other. They need five thousand dollars to afford the first few months of rent of the apartment they were looking at.

"I can't wait to have a place all to our own. Me and you can find a job pretty quick after we buy it 'cause we will both be college students." Sabo pointed out.

"Yeah, and we need all the money we can get to fill the endless meat pit known as Luffy." Ace snickered.

"Are you guys talking about me?" Luffy walks back into the room and plops on the couch.

"Nothing worth mentioning." says Sabo with a smile on his face. Ace's smile falls as he takes his mound of homework from his backpack. Sabo whistled in surprise.

"Woah their Ace you must have slept for an hour straight through class to get that load."

"Yeah well," Ace says bitterly. "Damn Mr. Marshall gives me extra homework for falling asleep." Ace flips a book open angrily. "He thinks that I have an attitude problem or somethin' so he hates me. Not that I give two shits about him."

"Well, you don't exactly do bad in school, so he needs to lay off." said Sabo walking out of the kitchen over to the couch where Luffy was laying down.

"Unlike you, my little brother. Did you hand in your assignment today?" Luffy gives a mighty groan.

"No, there was a substitute teacher and he gave us an extra day to complete it." Ace looks at him from the kitchen table.

"Substitute? What happened to Mr. Sengoku?" he asked.

"Apparently he got in some big car accident. We're gonna have that substitute for about a month." said Luffy throwing the couch cushion in the air.

"Who's the substitute?"

Luffy caught the cushion and hesitates with his answer.

"You might remember him, Mr. Burgess?" Sabo and Ace froze on the spot and stared at Luffy. Suddenly feeling shy, he put the cushion on his face.

"You have to be kidding, Lu? Tell me your kidding." Luffy ignored Ace's pleas.

"I'm not, it's definitely him." Luffy heard stomping and suddenly a very angry Sabo yanked the cushion from his face.

"We can't let you stay in that class Lu! You know what that guy was like!" he yelled.

"I can't change classes! That's one of the few I am actually doing decent in! And how do you guys know he still acts like that? It was ten years ago! He's probably changed!" He shouted, partially trying to convince himself.

"Do you really believe that Luffy?" asked Ace with a serious look on his face. Luffy looked away from his brothers, thinking about today's incident.

"I don't want to run away from this, it won't bother me anymore." When it looked like his brothers were about to protest he lifted a hand to silence them. "If anything feels wrong, I'll tell you guys right away." Ace and Sabo seemed to lighten up at that.

"Okay Lu, deal. But absolutely _do not_ hide anything from us, got it?" said Sabo in a serious voice.

"Of course! Shishishi!" said Luffy giving a fake laugh. ' _I hate lying, but I don't want them to drag me away from school again because of him. It's only a month anyway.'_

"Now that that's out of the way, why don't you guys come to the big game tomorrow? I could use the support," asked Ace.

"Sure! I don't see why not? I could ask Koala if she wants to come too. " said Sabo taking out his cell phone.

"Yeah! I was already planning on going with my friends anyway! Shishishishi."

"Awesome!"

 **Thank the person who followed this story! Please review and such, it's my caffine!**

 _What to expect next chapter; Luffy's freaking out and Sabo goes on a not-so joy ride._

 **See ya next time! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

 **The drama is commencing this chapter! Mostly at the end, but after that it's crazy. Man, usually when I post a chapter, I finish another one then post this but for some reason I could not bring myself to write. BUT NO WORRIES. I'm going to work my butt up to catch up! Enough of my blab, here's the next chapter of Kidnapped!**

 **Warning for swears and violencezzzz**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECEEEE**

"Luffy!"

The whole class is full blown laughing at the redheaded teacher on the ground.

"That was a good one Luffy! Rich!" laughed Nami. Shanks got up with his bangs shadowing his eyes, giving him a sinister look. The whole class fell into a scared silence.

"Well Luffy, taking the screws out of my wheelie chair before class and making me fall is absolutely not funny..." he said in a calm voice. Luffy leaned over his desk and was about to protest, but as he put his weight on it, it gave underneath him and he fell face first on the floor.

"But that is! Take that ya brat! Hahahaha!" Shanks covered his face with his hand to stop the flow of tears that came with his boisterous laughter. The whole class erupted in laughs and then they started clapping. Shanks bowed to them.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week!" Luffy sat up and rubbed his sore chin from where it hit the floor.

"Looks like we think alike! Shishishishi!" Luffy laughs.

"You're right about that, but you've got a long way to go before you're gonna be king of the pranksters."

"Shishishi, ya I know. Prepare yourself for next week's prank." Luffy says deviously.

"Can't wait, now sit down in your chair. I'll have the janitor repair your desk by tomorrow." Luffy lifted himself up in his chair and slouched trying to get comfortable for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

"Are you guys all going to the football game tonight?" Everyone turned to look at Luffy who had stopped eating to speak.

"Yeah! I never really got to see one last year so i'm definitely going to come!" said Chopper.

"Can't, I have a shift at the restaurant." said Sanji.

Everyone eventually gave their reasons and only Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Franky and Brook could come.

"What about you Vivi?" asked Luffy.

"Umm...well i've never really been to one before so I don't know what to do." she said nervously. Luffy jumped up from his seat and put his face right in front of hers.

"That's fine! I'll show you what to do so you don't have to worry!" he said and gave her a grin.

"I'd like that, thank you Luffy." She quickly turned her head away so that he didn't see the blush that was creeping across her cheeks.

"No problem!" He sat back down in his seat and started nibbling on some meat. Suddenly, his face lit up and he stuck his index finger in the air.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! Sabo's gonna come too." he said.

"Your brother? Okay then, should we all just carpool there? I'll drive." Zoro offers. Everyone agrees to the plan except Luffy.

"Um, I think I'll meet you guys there. I have stuff to do at home first." Luffy said not meeting anyone's eyes. The group exchanged looks of worry.

The crew had never once been to Luffy's house the whole time they knew him. Every time they remotely brought up the idea of going there he came up with some excuse as to why they couldn't. Come to think of it, they didn't really know much about his family either. They only knew he had an older brother named Sabo who went to college in the city. They wanted to ask Luffy about his life, but decided against it. They all had secrets they didn't want to share; so they didn't want to make him say anything he didn't want to.

"Okay then, we'll save a seat for you and your brother then." said Zoro shrugging.

"Oh, could you save one more? Sabo's girlfriend Koala might be coming too." Hearts grew in Sanji's eyes and he clasped his hands together in front of his heart.

"A lady is coming? I wish I could go and meet her~." Sanji swooned.

"Stupid cook."

* * *

"Faster, faster boys! I don't want to see you this slow during the game today." shouted Coach Newgate to the football team as they were doing suicides.

"I…huff...huff... don't think...I can...huff...take another step!" panted Thatch as he trudged behind Ace.

"C'mon Thatch, even Marco's doing better than you and he watches _Say Yes to the Dress_ for a living." says Ace pulling beside him.

"Heard that-yoi." says Marco through heavy breaths.

"How...huff...do you...have so much...energy?" Thatch inquires.

"I spend a lot of energy everyday so this is nothing." Ace laughs. Truth is, Ace constantly wrestles and fights his brothers everyday over anything from who gets the last piece of pizza to getting revenge when one of them throws a plate at his head.

"Jeez, i'd like to know how you do it man." pants Marco.

"While you guys try to breathe, i'm going to finish laps early. See ya!" Ace picked up his pace and finished his share of suicides.

"As usual Ace, your stamina is impressive. Go hit the showers boy." Coach Newgate praises.

"Thanks coach!" Ace runs off the field while ignoring the glares of his friends and some of his teammates.

He walks through the door into the gym. He swiftly makes his way over the squeaky basketball court to the change rooms. Ace pushes the door open then heads to his locker. He removes his sweaty practice equipment, jersey and other articles of clothing. He then grabs the towel from his locker and wraps it around his waist. Ace hops into one of the showers on the other side of the change room.

 _'I love having the change room to myself.'_ He thinks as he cleans himself. That was one of the main reasons why he always finished practice early. This was the one time he could have a shower in peace because at home, his brothers would bustle in and out of the bathroom constantly like it was a highway. But here, it was nice and quiet with no disturbances.

Just as Ace finishes rinsing his shampoo, he hears something coming from the change room. He turns the shower off so that he could hear more clearly, and the sound turns out to be the distinct ring of his cell phone.

After he ties his towel around his waste, he speed walks towards his locker and grabs his cell phone. Ace presses the answer button and brings it up to his ear.

"Hello?" No response. He waits several seconds before he asks again.

"Helloooo?" He's about to hang up when he hears a small clicking sound.

 _'What's that?'_ He listens to the clicking a little longer before it goes silent again.

 _'What the-'_ Suddenly, an alarmingly loud Ring around the Rosy blasts into Ace's eardrum.

"Shit!" He throws the phone in the air to get it as far away from his ear as possible. He immediately tries to catch his phone again but keeps missing and the scene looks similar to a monkey juggling a ball.

 ** _Ring around the rosy, ~_**

 ** _A pocket full of posies, ~_**

 ** _Ashes, ashes, ~_**

 ** _We all fall down. ~_**

As the song dies down, Ace is leaning against the locker trying to slow his heart rate. When the song finally ends he angrily brings the phone up to his ear again.

"Luffy whatever you're doing is not fucking funny! You pretty much blew my ear off damn it!" He waited for a reply but the phone kept silent then the connection cut off. He angrily put his phone away and got dressed.

 _'Damn it i'm gonna give him a piece of my mind when I see him. Then of course, payback.'_ Just as he slipped his grey t-shirt on, most of the team was starting to come in.

"Woah Ace, looks like someone ran out of hot water in the shower." Thatch teases. Ace sighs angrily.

"Someone called my phone and decided they wanted to make me permanently deaf."

"Hahaha! I'd like to meet the person and give him a big high five-yoi." said Marco.

"I have a pretty good idea of who did it, I think it was Luffy." says Ace scrubbing his hair dry with the towel.

"Monkey D. Luffy? Wouldn't surprise me, that kid is renowned for his pranks around this school."

"Ya well, i'm gonna kick his ass when I see him." Ace packs his stuff in his bag and slams the locker shut. "So are we still going out to eat before the game?" He asks.

"Yeah just let us shower first then we'll head over to Pizza Hut." replied Thatch while stripping down. Ace sat down on the bench and let his thoughts wander.

 _'Hmm what can I do for payback? I think there's a leftover spray-able cheese can left in the fridge...'_

* * *

"Oi! Luffy! Over here!" Zoro waves Luffy over to where Brook, Franky, Chopper and ViVi are sitting. Luffy taps Sabo's shoulder and they both make their way to the group. Luffy sits down beside ViVi on the end and Sabo sits beside him.

"Hey Sabo, I thought your girlfriend was coming." questions Brook.

"I asked her, but she turned it down saying that it isn't her 'thing'." he says sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well that's fine, not many girls like football anyway." Franky points out. The group settles into a comfortable silence, listening to the hustle and bustle of the crowd around them. There was a large turnout from both competing high schools so the bleachers were filled up quickly. Suddenly, a loud car alarm went off and ViVi jumped in her seat. They all turned their heads to the parking lot.

"I swear if that's my car there will be hell to pay." muttered Sabo. He got up and ran towards the parking lot.

"Still in love with his car I see." observes Brook, eyes following the retreating Sabo.

"Yeah, he's just a little more protective of it lately. Yesterday someone almost bashed into it with him inside. Thank Oda he managed to hit the breaks in time." said Luffy as he looked at the players shifting around the bench and fiddled with the straw hat on his head.

The crew looked at him with different looks of disbelief.

"Oh no! I'm glad he didn't get hurt! That would be horrible!" Chopper said in horror.

"You must've been worried, are you alright?" ViVi asked, facing Luffy.

"Yeah, I was mad that he was more upset over the car, but I'm just glad that he's okay now."

"You really care for your brother don't you?" She asks him with a smile.

"Of course! He's the world to me!" he says with conviction. ViVi smiles at his words. Moments like these were when she really fell hard for him. The crew returned their attention to the end of the row where an annoyed Sabo stood. He stomped his way through the group and sat beside Luffy with a huff.

"Some idiot decided to break into my car to get the GPS that was on the dash. So, I gave him a warning to never touch my car again. All I had to do was give him a quick hit on the head and several punches to the gut and he promised to stay away." he said with an evil aura around him.

"Then why do you still look pissed?" asked Zoro.

Sabo's calm exterior broke and he exploded into a rage.

"THE BASTARD CRACKED THE WINDOW AND SCRATCHED MY DOOR. LUFFY YOU BETTER HOLD ME DOWN OR IM GONNA GO BACK AND KILL HIM." The group looked at the seething man then turned back to the field, not wanting to face his fury. All of a sudden, a loud voice boomed over the speaker.

"Hey everyone! Are you ready for this?" The crowd gave large cheers of approval. "Well then, let me introduce our guest team to the field. Everyone give a warm welcome to the New World High Sea Kings!" There was a massive cheer from the right side of the bleachers. The left side, including Luffy's group, gave large boos and thumbs-down. The team ran onto the field and waved to the large crowd. After they jogged back to the bench and their coach started giving them a pep talk.

"Now, the ones you've all been waiting for. Our home team, the Grand Line High Pirates! The right side of the bleachers erupted into cheers as their team ran onto the field, waving. Luffy nudged Sabo on the arm.

"Look! There's Ace!" The brothers start waving their arms hoping to catch his attention. Ace looks up and sees his brothers waving like buffoons.

 _'Jeez talk about embarrassing.'_ Nonetheless, he smiled and raised a fist in the air, making a knocking gesture. He smiled even further when his brothers returned the gesture, laughing about the secret they shared.

"What are you guys doing?" Zoro asked the brothers. But they didn't hear his question over the crowd and were focused on the players entering the field. Zoro rolls his eyes and returns his attention to the action in front of him.

The announcer's enthusiastic voice returned to the loud speaker.

"Without further ado, let's play some football!" The whole field erupted with yells, screams and encouraging comments.

"Hey ViVi!" Luffy yelled over the crowd. She turned towards him with wide eyes.

"What?" She yells back. He gives her a big smile and says; "you're going to love this!"

* * *

"I'm going to get a snack, anyone want anything?" asked Luffy, standing up.

"C'mon Luffy, the game's almost over. Can't you hold off on snacks for a little longer?" said Sabo, annoyed.

"No way! I've already held off for two hours, i'm gonna die if I don't have something soon." Luffy declares. Sabo snorts and Zoro rolls his eyes. It was pointless to argue with Luffy when it came to food. Luffy stood up and ran down the bleachers towards the concession stand. He navigated through the crowd of people, twisting and ducking from incoming elbows and legs. He finally reached the stand and ordered a hot dog.

"Coming right up! It'll be done in a few minutes so please wait to the right." said the worker lady.

"Okay, thanks!" He walks to the right and props his elbow on the counter. While he's waiting he scans the crowd for any funny looking people. He quickly grew bored and started tapping his foot on the ground in impatience. Movement to his right behind the bleachers caught his attention.

 _'Huh? What's that?'_ He squinted his eyes to see the features of the figures more clearly, but could only make out their silhouettes. There were two people and they appeared to be arguing about something. The bulky figure approached the smaller one and hit him on the side of the head, still yelling.

The smaller one screamed back something inaudible and they resumed their argument. Luffy leaned closer trying to listen to what they were saying. They abruptly turned to face him and Luffy stiffened, their posture did not look happy.

"Excuse me sir, your hotdog is ready." Luffy handed the lady his money and took the hotdog without taking his eyes off the individuals. His heart rate sped up when they started for him at a fast pace.

Luffy took a bite of his hot dog and went into the chaos of the crowd, hoping to shake them off. After wandering around for a while, he ran through the back of the bleachers where there was no people as a short cut. He slowed his pace deciding there was no one after him anymore.

He was about to enter the crowd next to his set of bleachers when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and yanked him backwards. His breath hitched when he felt hot breath next to his ear.

"It's not nice to listen to peoples conversations." A gruff voice whispered.

"Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to snoop! I didn't even hear anything!" He said in a scared calm, moving away from the man. But as he was about to turn around, an elbow flashed out and smacked him in the nose.

"Gah!" Dropping his hotdog, he doubled over and clutched his face in pain. After a few moments, he looked up and the man was gone.

 _'Jeez, what a bastard.'_ He took his hands off his nose and saw it was covered in blood. ' _Damn that hurts, I hope it's not broken.'_ He dug his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out some tissues. Luffy held the tissues to his nose to stop the bleeding and cringed.

 _'Yeah that's gonna leave a mark.'_ He continued his way to the bleachers and ignored all the curious stares sent his way.

"Luffy! What the hell happened to you?" Luffy gave a tired eye at the group looking at him in shock.

"Did someone hit you? I'm gonna kill whoever dared hit _my_ little brother." said Sabo in a rage.

"Calm down, I was going through the crowd when someone accidentally jabbed me in the face with their elbow." lied Luffy. He didn't want them to worry; it was his fault for listening in on a private conversation anyway.

"Come here Luffy, let me examine it." said Chopper motioning him over beside him. ViVi moved over and Luffy sat down between her and Chopper.

"Now sit still. Can you take the tissue away from your face?" Luffy reluctantly lowered the tissue and let Chopper look at his nose. He poked and prodded several places around the nose with his tiny fingers, stimulating small groans and flinches from the straw-hat teen.

"Okay Luffy you can hold the tissue there again." Luffy put the tissue on his nose and asked Chopper what was wrong with it.

"Well you're certainly lucky Luffy. If the jab were slightly closer to your face you would have broken your nose. Right now you just have some bruising, but that will be healed in a matter of days." Chopper concluded.

"Gee Chopper, you're going to be a great doctor! Thanks!" said Luffy with stars in his eyes.

"Stupid! Saying stuff like that doesn't make me flattered ya idiot!" yelled Chopper while holding his face trying to contain his big smile.

 _'You look flattered to me.'_ The whole group thought at once.

"Enough of this gloomy atmosphere! Let's focus on the game! Our team only needs a touch down to claim victory and they need a _suuuuper_ cheer to get them motivated." said Franky while raising his hands in the air.

"Are you sure you're okay Luffy?" Sabo asks with evident worry.

"You bet! Now let's give our team the best cheer they've ever heard!" he yells.

"AYE AYE!"

* * *

The Grand Line pirates ended up winning the game 13-14 with Thatch getting the winning touch down. When the final whistle blew, the whole football team ran into the field and lifted Thatch up into the air.

Afterwards the football team and most of the school went over to Marco's house for a celebration party. Ace left late that night and plopped on his bed, contently listening to his brother's soft snoring on the beds on either side of his.

He suddenly remembers to get his revenge on Luffy. Ace pushes himself off the bed with a groan and stumbles to the fridge. He selects the cheese spray and makes his way back to the room and to Luffy's shoes.

Ace shakes the can a few times then sprays the whole thing into his shoes. He breaks out into an evil chuckle and tries to muffle it with his hand. He looks at Luffy's face and realizes that he had a large bandage over his nose.

 _'Geez, what happened to you Lu?'_ he thought as he looked at his brother's bruised face.

Suddenly realizing how tired he was, Ace throws the can in the garbage and jumps on his bed. He falls into a deep sleep with a smile on his face, content with his day.

* * *

"Crap, crap crap crap." All three D brothers are running around the house in a hurry.

"Dadan! Quick! Make me bacon!" Luffy demands as he's packing his school bag.

"Idiot! There's no time for that! Here's some toast." She grabs the toast out of the toaster and launches it at him from across the room.

"Ehhhh? But I want bacon!" He protests, but eats the toast anyway.

"Luffy stop fooling around we're late! Grab your stuff and let's go!" shouted Sabo as he grabbed Luffy's wrist and pulled him towards the door. Sabo released Luffy's wrist and paused by the kitchen entrance. He bowed to Dadan.

"Thanks for breakfast..." she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "...you old hag." He ducked and ran away laughing when she threw a pan at him. He made his way outside where Ace and Luffy were sitting impatiently in his roof-less car.

"C'mon Sabo, you actually offered to drive us today. Don't make us more late than we already are!" Ace yelled with a tick mark appearing on his head.

"Yeah yeah let's go." He jumped over the door to the drivers seat and started the car which took _forever._

"Sabo, I know how much you hate other people touching your car. But I think you should get it checked out. It takes ten years to start and it leaks. You should give this rust bucket a paint job while you're at it-" Ace's ranting was cut off by a sharp hit in the head.

"Hey! What was that..." Ace trailed off whatever he was going to say when he saw Sabo holding the steering wheel in a death grip. He had the familiar evil aura that he always got whenever someone touched his car.

"Never mind." Ace pursed his lips and looked to the side. The car finally started moving and Sabo sped down the streets until they reached Grand Line High. Ace looked around at the lack of people and swore.

"We're late, c'mon Lu we've got to get going." Luffy jumped out of the car and thanked Sabo for the ride.

"No problem Lu, see ya later Ace!" Sabo waved as he drove away.

"Bye!" Ace waved him off then walked into the school with Luffy. He ruffled his little brother's hair under his hat. "See ya later little bro." Luffy laughs and straightens his hat.

"Bye Ace!" he says running in the opposite direction. Ace watches his retreating figure with a slightly guilty expression.

 _'Good thing he didn't find out i'm going out for lunch with Sabo today.'_

* * *

 _'Man that was a long lecture.'_ Sabo rubbed the back of his head to try and cure the ache that grew there. He checks the time on his phone.

 _'Looks like it's time to meet Ace for lunch.'_ Sabo walked out of the college and into the parking lot. He took his hand off his head and reached into his satchel. After some rummaging, he found his car keys and clicked the unlock button. However, he was too far away for the car to pick up the signal.

Sabo growled in frustration as he extended his arm and pressed the button repeatedly.

 _'I need to calm down, I'm all grouchy from the lecture.'_ Sabo took a deep breath and continued his efforts as he walked closer and closer to the car. Suddenly, the keys disappeared from his hand and Sabo looked at the retreating man who had just taken them.

"YOU BASTARD GIVE ME MY KEYS BACK!" He shouted as he chased the man through the parking lot at breakneck speed. He finally caught up to the man after navigating through several parked and moving cars. Sabo placed a hand on his shoulder and realized he recognized this man from somewhere.

"Hey! Aren't you the guy from the football ga-" His sentence fell short as an exploding pain hit the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground and struggled to stay conscious.

 _'Somebody help!'_ He wanted to say it aloud but couldn't find the strength. The last thing he saw before he fell into darkness was crimson liquid flooding on the pavement.

The man stared at the blond whom he just hit laying on the ground, unconscious. He snapped at the other for almost getting caught a second time then made him carry Sabo to their awaiting vehicle.

The other slung Sabo over his shoulder then threw him into the black van. He shut the door and got into the passenger seat. The man outside made quick work of cleaning the blood by drenching it with water. He watched the clear and red liquids run into the sewer then went into the drivers seat. He started the van and they sped away, leaving nothing behind.

 **Omake:**

"ACCCEEEEE!" Both boys don't react to their little brother as he sprints into the kitchen with yellow gooey feet. Ace can't keep calm anymore and starts bursting out laughing. Sabo looks at Luffy, then his feet, and tells him to go take a shower.

"Watch your back Ace." Luffy says mischievously and he retreats into the washroom.

"Sabo, remind me to replace all the shampoo bottles next time I take a shower."

"Will do brother." Sabo replies sipping his tea.

 _Next time: Sabo's absence raises eyebrows and Ace's drunken ness leaves Luffy pissed._

 **As I'm writing this, I kinda notice it has a pretty little liars vibe to it… hmm.**

 **THANK YOU! There were so many favs and follows after the last chapter I was ecstatic!**

 **Ecarlates; Slow your role there ha ha. Your questions will be answered in time, I'm glad your eager about the story though! And let's not make any assumptions about will come to pass… THANK YOU FOR reviewing and giving your opinion!**

 **See you next week~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Woot! I'm ahead of schedule for writing this time, I'm trying to go super fast to update more often!**

 **Warning for violencezzzz**

 **Disclaimer: One piece ain't mine ya hear**

"You guys should have been there! It was awesome!"

The whole straw-hat crew was sitting under a tree in the courtyard listening to Luffy's recount of the game yesterday.

"I wish I could have been there, but I had work. The old man wouldn't let me leave no matter how much asking I did." grumbles Sanji. Sanji works at his father's restaurant, the Baratie, on most days after school. He is an extraordinary chef and often cooks for the group.

"The only thing I regret missing is seeing how you got that huge bruise on your face Luffy." says Nami tilting her head to the side. Luffy blinks twice with wide eyes before laughing.

"Why would you want to see how I got this ugly thing?" he taps his bandage covered nose with the tip of his finger.

"Because it would be the only action I would actually be interested in seeing. Seriously, how do you people watch football? All they do is catch the ball and run back and forth tackling each other." she said with a bored expression on her face. Franky leans over and whispers into Chopper's ear.

"Told you girls don't like football."

"C'mon guys, Vivi enjoyed it! Right Vivi?" Luffy turned around to face Vivi, who was surprised to be entered into the conversation.

"Oh yes! I loved it! And Luffy, I forgot to thank you for bringing me along and making me feel welcome." she gave him a warm smile.

"No problem! You can come to more games now! It'll be so much fun!" He says with a big grin.

"Oi! Luffy!"

Luffy turns around and sees Ace walking towards him. The girls in his gang gape as he approaches, they then scramble to look more appealing by twirling their hair and straightening their skirts.

"What's up Ace?" Luffy questioned. He frowned when he saw the solemn look on Ace's face.

"Come over here for a second." Confused, Luffy rose and followed Ace to the entrance of the school. Luffy leaned on the wall and looked expectantly at Ace.

"Did you get a call or text from Sabo in the last bit?" Ace asked with furrowed brows.

"No, the last time I saw him was when he dropped us off. Why?" Ace looked to the side, purposely avoiding Luffy's eyes.

"Well, we were supposed to meet for lunch an hour ago but he never showed. He hasn't even texted me at all.." Ace said quietly, finally daring to look at Luffy's face. His face had a big pout and a big puppy dog eyes to boot.

 _'Aw man.'_

" _Ace!_ How could you go out to eat without me! You and Sabo are the worst." Ace flinched and gave himself a mental slap.

 _'Don't let him manipulate you Ace! You've got to take the reigns on this conversation!'_ Ace took a deep breath and gave Luffy the best serious look he could muster.

"Sorry Lu, you would have eaten our wallets dry. Me and Sabo just wanted to have some quality big brother time y'know?" he said. He gave Luffy a hard look, trying to make him understand. After a couple seconds of stare down, Luffy finally broke with a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry about Sabo, he probably just forgot. College is stressful for him sometimes." Luffy reasons. Ace gives him a skeptical look, but shakes it off. Luffy was right, Sabo _had_ been complaining lately about his load of homework.

"You're right, i'm gonna have to get him back for it later though." he says mischievously.

"Want access to my firecracker stash?" Luffy says with an evil chuckle.

"Naw, I think i'll just give him an earful when I see him again. Thanks for the offer though little bro." Ace pushes Luffy's hat in front of his eyes, blocking his view.

"By the way, are you ready for your civics test today?" Ace asks. Luffy gives an exaggerated groan as he fixes his hat back on his head.

"Yes mom, I've studied for it already." Ace smacks Luffy on the head.

"Don't get smart with me."

"Sorry.." Luffy rubs his head with a pained look.

"Well, if you hear from Sabo, let me know. He doesn't get to escape my wrath." says Ace turning away.

"Gotcha, see ya later." Luffy walks back to his group and sits down. They all looked at him in shock. They were all watching their talk from a distance and wondered why Ace was talking to Luffy so...comfortably. After all, Ace wasn't someone you just _talked_ to. They all stared at him expectantly, but he just sat there in a daze eating his sandwich slowly. Meanwhile on Luffy's point of view, he couldn't shake what Ace said about Sabo. Despite his own words, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. The whole time they had known each other, Luffy always knew this one thing about his brother.

He never forgot.

* * *

Luffy takes a sip of his orange juice box and discards it in a nearby trash can as he exits the school grounds. Ace had football practice that day so Luffy was walking home alone.

Luffy glanced around at his surroundings. He always liked his walks home. Around him were large oak trees that rustled when a fresh wind blew. The houses around him had intricate gardens with a large variety of flowers sporting sweet scents. Different critters scurried under the trees, nibbling on acorns while birds chirped overhead.

Luffy sighed in content, closing his eyes to take it all in for a moment. One day he and his brothers would live in a place like this, not the shabby neighbourhood they inhabited now.

 _'This is what I want everyday.'_ He thought to himself. A buzzing coming from his pocket suddenly interrupted his deep thoughts. Luffy looked at the text alert he received and read it aloud.

 _"Hey Lu, I'm gonna go hang out with Marco and Thatch after school and stay overnight. Remember to lock the doors when you go to bed. Dadan can use her key when she_ blah blah blah blah. _"_

Luffy texts back that he'll tell Sabo that he's staying out late. Luffy shuts off his phone and resumes his walk home. He eventually reaches his not-so-nice neighborhood and Luffy's mood sours. He digs his hands in his pockets and stomps home.

A cold breeze tickles his neck and he shivers, pulling up the hood of his hoodie. He looks nervously from side to side, suddenly feeling uneasy. He picks up his pace and hears footsteps approaching him from behind. He grits his teeth and starts jogging, but the footsteps also get faster. Feeling brave, he spins around to face whomever was following him.

"What do you…" He trailed off when he sees there's no one there.

 _'Well I feel stupid.'_ He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts when his phone vibration made him jump. Irritated, he pulled his phone out and looked at his text.

He sighed in relief when he sees it's from Sabo; _**' Hey Lu, I'm going out today so I won't be at home. I'll be back later tonight.'**_

Luffy texts him back acknowledging what he said and told him to call Ace because he missed their lunch. Luffy then texts Ace that Sabo contacted him and he told him to call Ace. In an even more sour mood than before, he wore a frown on his face the rest of the way back not liking the prospect of being alone for the whole night.

He's almost upon his house when he sees a five-dollar bill lying on the ground. He quickly grabs it and shoves it in his pocket.

 _'Yes! More money for the apartment fund!'_ He thinks, cheering up.

"No! Please stop!"

Luffy stops and backs up to look down the alleyway he just passed. He had to squint his eyes to make out what was happening at the end of the relatively dark alley. He could see a girl with long pink hair that was being pressed against the wall by a man who was around Ace's age.

"Please! Just leave me alone, why are you doing this?" the girl pleaded.

"Aw c'mon baby, why are you so tense? Just relax, and you'll be fine." the man coaxed, gently stroking her cheek.

"Hey!" Both of them turned their heads to look at Luffy.

"What are you doing? Leave her alone!" Luffy took a threatening step toward the man. Upon closer inspection he had a baseball cap and a large jacket covering his features.

"Get lost runt. You've got no business here." he said then turned back to the girl.

"Now, where were we…" The man slipped a hand under her shirt when all of a sudden he was flying back down the alley. The girl fell down to the ground, startled. She looked above her and saw Luffy standing there cracking his knuckles and glaring at her attacker. The man slowly stood up then charged towards Luffy in a rage.

"You bastard! Come here so I can murder you!" He swung his fist and Luffy barely dodged backwards before he gave the man a big head butt, knocking him unconscious. Luffy stood there for a second before gripping his nose in pain. He removed his hand and saw it was covered in blood.

 _'Damn, must've busted it again.'_ He wiped his hands on his pants and knelt down to the girl.

"Hey, you okay? I'm not gonna hurt you or anything." She looked at him with big teary eyes before giving him a nod. He stood up and stretched out a hand to her. She took the hand and shakily stood up.

"Thank you, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there." She gave him a warm smile.

"No problem! I couldn't just walk by while that jerk did whatever he wanted, miss..uh..."

"Just call me Rebecca. What should I call you?"

"The names Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy." He tipped his hat in greeting.

"Well Monkey D. Luffy, I thank you. We can just leave that guy here; the cops will find him by the time he wakes up. You certainly did a number on him."

"Well, I fight a lot so this is no big deal." he scratched the back of his head. "Do you want me to walk you home?" She shook her head.

"No thanks, I don't want to trouble you. Besides, I think you need to get your nose checked out." she said, giving him a wink.

"Okay then, I'll see you around!" Luffy waved as she ran out of the alley and onto the street.

 _'Well at least there was_ something _eventful today.'_ Luffy picked his school bag up from where he threw it, then walked to the street.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grab him from behind and pull him back to the alleyway. He let out a yell of protest before a large hand was clamped over his mouth. He grabbed at the hands and kicked his attacker, but he wouldn't let up. He dragged Luffy deeper into the alleyway then hit him against the wall, knocking the air out of him. He pressed one arm against his chest, and the other rested firmly on his mouth.

 _'Where did he come from? Was he hiding in the alleyway?!'_

"Well well well, we've been busy today." the man said in a gruff voice while looking at the man Luffy knocked out. Luffy took a good look at his attacker. He had a black ski mask on that only exposed his eyes and mouth. He wore a black leather jacket and gloves with long jeans and combat boots.

Luffy glared as he tried to bite his attackers hand, however the gloves made his attempts useless. The man laughed evilly in amusement.

"My my, feisty aren't you?" He pressed himself harder against Luffy and pushed his face right in front of the teens.

"Oh dear, did you hurt yourself? You're bleeding." He leaned forward and licked the blood running from Luffy's nose. Luffy gave a muffled yell of protest and tried to turn his head away.

"Don't be like that..." he swiftly pulled out a knife and pressed it to Luffy's cheek. Luffy's eyes widened as he flickered his gaze from the knife to his attacker.

"See, you understand now? Now don't make a move or I'll give you another scar." Luffy swallowed as the guy started taking his sweater off.

 _'Damn it! Someone please help! Anyone!'_ He silently pleaded. He focused his gaze on the crumpled receipt for McDonalds he had in his sweater pocket flutter to the ground, trying not to look at the man in front of him.

"Now let's see what's under this shir-" he was abruptly cut off when he heard a loud banging sound.

"What the hell.." The man swerved his head trying to get a look at whatever was making that sound. At that moment, he weakened his hold on Luffy.

 _'Its now or never!'_ Luffy gave a large heave and flung himself free of his captor. He didn't look back as he grabbed his bag and sprinted at the speed of light.

As he exited the alley, he saw Rebecca standing there holding two tin trash can lids and banging them together.

"Rebecca?" he said in confusion. But he soon snapped back into reality when he saw his attacker running down the alley toward him.

Luffy grabbed Rebecca's wrist and ran towards his neighborhood while going through different yards and houses. After awhile, they stood panting behind a white fence. Luffy took a peek behind the fence and couldn't see the big man around anywhere. He turned to face Rebecca, who was in a similar state as him.

"Why did you do that?" he said through pants. She took a moment to catch her breath before replying.

"I heard you yell, and I couldn't exactly leave you there after all that happened to me!" she said with determination in her voice. Luffy stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds before grinning.

"Well thanks a lot! Shishishi! But, can we keep that incident to ourselves? If my brothers found out they wouldn't stop at anything to find him and murder him." She gave him a reluctant look, but agreed.

"Well, I guess we should be walking each other home now." He points out.

"That would be a good idea." Turns out, Rebecca lived only a few blocks from his house. He dropped her off, but she lingered in the doorway.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk home with you?" Luffy smiled reassuringly.

"Naw, I'm okay. I'll be able to handle myself, that guy just caught me by surprise." After, they split apart and Luffy went to his own house. He hops over to the front door passing the empty spot where Sabo's car should be.

* * *

To describe Luffy's night in one word, it would be boring. His schedule consisted of;

-Replacing the bandage on his nose

-Calling each of his friends to see if they wanted to hang out

-Being denied by all his friends because they had other plans

-Removing the bandage on his nose and poking it to see if it would stop hurting

-Finishing his homework (surprisingly easier since his brothers weren't there to distract him.)

-Lay on the couch, then on the floor staring at the ceiling.

-Check his phone for any texts

-Resume staring

-Checking the television for anything to watch but finding nothing

-Slight bit of excitement when he got a text, but it was only Dadan saying she won't be back until late

-Spreads peanut butter over bread and stuck it to the ceiling, then proceeded to try and catch the falling pieces with his mouth

-Fall belly first on the couch and check the clock. It's only been 2 hours

 _'Shit.'_

Eventually through all this time Luffy finally managed to find a few good movies to watch on television. He gathered a large snack together and plopped on the couch, commencing his movie night.

After several movies, it was getting super late and Luffy wondered when Sabo would come home. Even Dadan had returned at some point, only stopping to ask if he had eaten dinner before she drunkenly stumbled up the stairs.

Throughout the movies, Luffy would constantly text Ace and call him trying to tell him that Sabo was missing. However Ace wouldn't pick up his phone at all, so Luffy focused on the movie that was playing. He tried to stay awake just in case Sabo came home but eventually fell asleep on the couch with Ironman blasting on the television.

Meanwhile, at Marco's house…

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" The crowd chanted in unison at the teen standing on the table gulping down a bottle of booze. After some struggle, the guy managed to down the whole thing and the crowd erupted into cheers. The man raised his bottle in victory, but soon passed out on the table.

"Wow! That guy can really take a hit!" said Thatch stumbling slightly over to Marco who had a ticked look on his face.

"Why is it that whenever you guys throw a party it's at my house?" he asks through gritted teeth. Ace stumbled up to Marco and slung an arm around his shoulder. He leaned close to Marco's ear as he spoke.

"Because, my juicy pineapple, your house is the biggest. And it's sooooooooo much fun seeing you mad." Ace and Thatch erupt into laughter and high five each other. (Pretty much missing cause they couldn't think very straight.)

"Damn you guys. You're helping me clean up this time!" he yells. A sudden buzz is heard and they all look down to Ace's pocket.

"Who's that-yoi?" Marco asks. Ace looks at the ID and sees it's Luffy.

 _'Damn! I can't let Luffy hear me like this! He's probably fine anyway; it's probably just something stupid like Sabo took all the leftover pizza.'_ Ace turns his cell phone off and gives his friends a big grin.

"It's no one! Now c'mon Marco, your not drunk enough to have fun!"

* * *

"Probably a bad idea to drink so heavily last night-yoi. We had school today."

Ace rubbed his aching head while Marco scolded him at their lockers. The night before had been a big blur, and the three friends had to scramble to get to school on time.

"We could have just missed school or something, it would have been easier on my aching head." whined Ace.

"You and I both know how important school is to you. And being the good friend I am, I forced you to go." Ace sighed, knowing Marco spoke the truth.

"Okay, okay. I'm grateful. You happy?"

"Very." Their conversation was interrupted when a group of girls came up to them.

"Brace yourselves, cause here comes the hurricane." Thatch said suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Ace internally cringed; he didn't mind that a few girls had a crush on him. However, he wasn't overly fond of the constant pestering of a certain group.

"Hey Ace, how's it going?" Ace took a deep breath and faced Boa Hancock, the girl whom just spoke. Hancock was with her usual pack of girls, which included Marigold, Sandersonia and Margaret. They usually come and talk to Ace at least once every day, trying to flirt with him. Though they were all possibly the most gorgeous girls in the school, their personalities didn't a amount to their looks.

"Uh pretty good I guess." he replied, feeling uncomfortable.

"How about you skip football practice today and come hang out with us? We'll show you a good time…" she said batting her eyelashes seductively. Ace gulped and looked at his friends for help. Thatch spoke up first.

"What? No invites for us? Ace's best friends? I'm disappointed in you." he said teasingly. Hancock snorts.

"Whatever, don't butt in on other people's plans. We weren't even talking to you in the first place so just shut up." Thatch looked like he was going to smack her when Marco spoke.

"Oh, so mature of you Hancock. Ace would totally want to go out with someone as nice as you."

"Who asked you, you pointy headed freak? Last time I checked, Ace has a mouth. So I think he can speak for himself." After that, she turned back to Ace.

"So how about it? Sorry to be so harsh, but they were getting in the way of our love." she said with innocent eyes. Ace was about to give her a sharp rebuke when he heard a voice yelling: "Move outta the way!"

The whole group looked down at the short straw hatted figure that pushed past the group of girls and stood in front of Ace with a stern expression.

"What the hell do you think your doing you little runt?!" Marigold yelled angrily.

 _'Luffy?'_ Ace thought. ' _What is he doing here? And what's with that look?'_ Luffy was just standing there with his arms crossed and a pissed off expression that pierced Ace's soul.

"Jeez, I didn't know sophomore could be so scary. Especially this little squirt, whatcha want buddy? Did somebody stomp on your crayons?" said Thatch teasingly. He and Marco chucked, but Ace remained serious meeting his brother's eyes.

After several tension filled seconds, Luffy finally speaks.

"Did you get my texts last night?" He asks with a frown. Ace instantly felt guilty, he was too busy partying to notice.

"Sorry Lu, I got busy. Why does it matter?" he asks, suddenly curious.

"Sabo didn't come home last night. I waited forever but he never showed. He didn't even text me." he said with worry evident in his voice. Ace furrows his brows in confusion. Sabo had been gone for a long time with vague excuses for being gone.

"Did Sabo text you that he would be out late?" Ace asks. Luffy shifts on his feet and looks around him.

"Well yeah, but the point is he didn't come home at all."

 _'Why didn't Sabo come home? He made Luffy worry! What the hell is up with him? I thought he was the responsible one.'_ he thought angrily.

"Um Ace, who's Sabo?" Thatch asked. The whole group was listening intently to the conversation at that point. Ace ignored Thatch's question and kept his attention on his little brother.

"Sabo probably just spent overnight at Koala's or something. Try not to be too worked up about it." Luffy still had a worried look on his face. After the attack last night, he feared that the same happened to Sabo. Ace patted him in the back.

"Relax a bit, he should be at the house today. I'll skip practice today to make sure he's fine. And why are you so jumpy all of a sudden? It's just some simple miscommunication, don't be such a worry wart." he playfully hits Luffy's head, which makes the straw-hat teen smile.

"I'm _not_ a worry wart. Have you last looked in a mirror? When I was out with my friends for an extra two hours than I thought, you made Sabo drive around town ten times until you found me." he says with a raised eyebrow. Ace snorts and looks away.

 _'I guess we're all just protective when it comes to each other. We're all we have.'_

"Whatever, just go get your bag. I'll see you by the entrance."

"Kay, see ya. Excuse me, pardon me…" Luffy pushed past the group of girls surrounding Ace's locker and walked away. Ace turned back to his locker, whistling a tune while packing his bag. He glances to Marco and Thatch and gradually stops whistling, confused by their silence.

"Ace, why are you so friendly with Luffy?" Thatch asks. Ace looked at him like he grew two heads. He gathered his stuff together and shut his locker.

"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I be nice to my own brother?" Ace gives him a confused look before heading to the exit.

"Oh! And tell the old man I had a family emergency so I couldn't come to practice. Thanks!" he yelled down the hallway then resumed walking.

The gang just stood by his locker with their mouths' hung open in disbelief.

* * *

"Well Luffy, how did that test go?" Ace and Luffy are walking through the nice neighborhood on their way home. Luffy looked happily around the neighborhood, enjoying the scenery.

His mood dampened immediately when Ace asked him that question.

"Fine I guess…" he trailed off, kicking a stone on the ground.

"Luffy, I know how much you hate us bothering you about your grades. But if we don't bother you about it, who will? Dadan doesn't give two craps, but we need you to get a good education so we can all afford a better place to live." Ace lectures.

"Yeah I know Ace, sorry." They enter their shabby neighborhood and Luffy looked at a few crows scrabbling over something he didn't want to know about.

"It's fine, just want you to know we're always gonna be there for you bro." Ace held out a fist and Luffy bumped his against it with a big smile on his face.

"That's always good to know when I'm craving meat."

"Don't push your luck."

They abruptly stopped in front if their driveway, noticing the absence of a certain rust covered car.

"Sabo's still not here? What the hell?" said Ace in disbelief.

"Maybe he got a ride home. C'mon let's check." The brothers walked to the door and after finding it unlocked, they stepped inside the eerie building.

"Sabo?" Luffy called. But there was no response in the oddly quiet house.

"Dadan? You here?" Again, no answer.

 _'Probably out drinking again.'_ Ace thought. They threw their stuff in the jacket closet and make their way down the hallway leading to the kitchen. They split up with Ace going upstairs and Luffy the main floor. After minutes of searching, they came up with nothing.

"Where the hell is Sabo, Ace?" Luffy sat down at the kitchen table and ran his fingers through his hair, staring at his phone.

"I tried calling him a million times but he won't pick up. I've sent him even more messages but he hasn't even read them." Luffy growled in frustration.

"I have no idea Lu, it's so not like him. I'm gonna beat his ass if I find out it's something stupid." Ace cracked his knuckles threateningly. After a few minutes of silence Luffy gave a suggestion.

"Should we call the cops? It's been more than twenty four hours." Ace thought about it then reluctantly shook his head.

"I don't think they'll listen right away. After all, Sabo texted you yesterday saying he'd be back late. I say we wait until tonight 'til he shows up."

"If that's what's best, then okay." Luffy pushed himself up from the table and flopped on the couch beside it. Ace sat on the couch next to him and slouched.

Hours flew by and they didn't budge. Even Luffy didn't move to get a snack. Neither of them felt hungry at all, they were too distracted waiting for Sabo.

Dadan came home around 6:00 asking if they wanted dinner. After a few mumbles of disagreement Dadan went upstairs to sleep, too drunk to care about what the boys were doing. When it was getting quite dark outside, Ace abruptly stood up.

"I can't take this anymore, we've waited long enough. I'm calling the cops." Ace pulled out his cell phone to call 911 when his phone buzzed. He looked at the ID shown on the screen.

"I got a text from Sabo!" says Ace, relieved. Luffy shoots up from the couch and runs over to Ace.

"What did he say?!" he says eagerly. As they both read the text, their faces suddenly fall in despair and the brothers turn as white as ghosts. On the screen in Sabo's messages was the worst thing they had ever seen in their lives.

 ** _'He's mine now. Tell anyone and he dies. I'm watching you_.'** They stare at it in dread when Ace's phone starts to ring. The caller ID is Sabo's.

They just stare at it for awhile, afraid to answer it. When the ringer dies down, they call once again. Finally Ace shakily presses speaker and answers it. They had to strain their ears to hear it, but there was no mistaking the distinct song that confirmed Ace's nightmares.

 ** _'Ring around the rosy,'_**

Luffy saw a flickering light outside.

 ** _'A pocket full of poseys,'_**

He looked out the window into the darkness, and focused on the single lamppost lighting up the dank sidewalks.

 ** _'Ashes, ashes,'_**

His eyes widened and he had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep from screaming.

 ** _'We all fall down.'_**

The man under the lamppost gave a small wave then slunk into the shadows.

* * *

"Certainly gullible, aren't they?" sneered the man texting away on the cell phone he was holding.

"Shut up you bastard! Leave my brothers alone!" screamed Sabo as he rattled the chains that attached him to the wall.

"It's certainly easy to pretend it's you. All I gotta do is say, hey Lu! And they don't suspect a thing."

"You stupid bastard, they won't be caught by your slow, fat-ass." Sabo spat at the man. The large man's face scrunched up in anger, and he lunged for the blond. He grasped him firmly by the neck and held him up high.

Sabo couldn't grab at the man because his hands and feet were bound, so all he could so was try and twist out of the man's grip. The man grew annoyed with his struggles and slammed him against the wall. Sabo let out a sputtered cry. Running out of air, he stared at the man with panicked eyes. The man's face changes from angry to smug as he puts his face right in front of Sabo's.

"I've been watching your little family for a long time with fascination. I've been _dying_ to get my hands on you all." He finally lets go of Sabo's neck and he falls to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.

"You should learn to watch your mouth in here boy." He turned to the steel door behind him. "Take him away!" The door flew open and four men streamed into the room. They unclipped Sabo's chains from the wall and held them like a leash.

"Come on! Move!" They tugged harshly at the chains and he was forced to comply. When the door shut, all that could be heard was a muffled scream.

 **Omake:**

Luffy: That was a successful peanut butter catch!

Looks around at the peanut butter staining the floor and roof.

Luffy: ...

Shrugs and leaves a note for Dadan saying the jar exploded.

Resumes staring at roof.

 **Ecarlates: I am happy to provide the chapter. ;)**

 **A MASSIVE thank you for the huge amount of follows and favorites from the last chapter, I was so happy!**

 _What to expect next time: Lies and friendship ties._

 _Until next time~_


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my goodness I have had the most hectic week of my entire life. Yet, by some miracle, I managed to write TWO chapters! How awesome is that? But right now I'm not feeling so hot and I'm gone this whole week, so I might be behind on chapters but I'll do my best!**

 **Got the computer back so here are the line breaks!**

 **P.S Hope I didn't mention clothes cause they have uniforms.**

 **P.P.S What's your favorite kind of One Piece Fic? I like reading AceLu brotherly ones; it's just so sweet!**

 **DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

"Oh god Ace! What do we do?! They've got Sabo!" Luffy was gripping his hair tight and tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. Ace immediately reaches out and closed the curtains.

"I-I have no idea! Oh shit, shit he called me before and I didn't even know it!" said Ace in a strained voice as he peaked out the window.

"What does he want from Sabo? What if he already killed him?!" Luffy frantically paced around the room. Ace ran to every door in their house and locked them. He grabbed Luffy and led him to their bedroom.

"Whatever's happening, I'm not gonna let them get you Lu. Like I said, I'm always going to be there for you." he said wrapping his arms and holding his brother against his chest.

Luffy sniffed and forced his tears back. "Same here. I won't let anything happen to you or Sabo." Ace put his chin on Luffy's head and hugged his brother tighter.

"This is messed up shit right now, and we need to get our heads straight. C'mon you can sleep in my bed tonight." The brothers crawled into Ace's bed and pulled under the covers. They tried to fall asleep but every time they closed their eyes they saw Sabo's smiling face.

* * *

Luffy blinked his weary eyes open and looked at the clock beside him.

 _It's only seven in the morning, I can afford to sleep in_. Luffy snuggled deeper in the covers, basking in the sunlight shining on his face. He tried to pull more blankets, but was met with resistance. He turned his head around and saw Ace sleeping with a frown on his face, looking quite uncomfortable.

Then it all came back to him. Sabo. He felt tears rushing up but wiped them away quickly. He didn't want to seem weak in front of Ace; he needed to be strong.

Suddenly no longer feeling the desire to sleep, Luffy carefully gets out of Ace's bed and slips on his school uniform. The uniform consists of white polo, black trousers, polished black shoes and a black tie. Hats are an exception at the school, so Luffy plops his signature straw hat on his head.

Luffy tip toes in the kitchen and sees Dadan cooking up some bacon. He stiffly walks to the dining table while muttering a greeting. Dadan finishes cooking and places a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

"Here ya go brat. I'm surprised you're up this early. Have a good sleep or somethin'?" she asks pouring something from her flask into a coffee mug.

"Nah..it was alright.." he slowly works through his breakfast, not having much of an appetite.

"Guess I better wake up the other two brats huh." She starts for their bedroom when a gloomy looking Ace steps out.

"There you are! Weird, you both are both up early today. Pigs must be raining too. Move outta the way, I've gotta wake up blondie." She moves to get around Ace, but he blocks her way.

"...Sabo isn't here..." Luffy snaps his head to Ace and gives him a surprised look.

"He's on a college trip... far away." He says quickly, giving Luffy a look of reassurance.

"A trip? Why didn't he say anything?" Dadan asks confusedly. Struggling to think of something, Ace looks at the ceiling for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Uh, yesterday. He told us to tell you he's fine and won't be back for quite awhile… Ha ha." He gives a nervous laugh. Dadan looks between the two brothers, then let's out a big sigh.

"Well whatever, one less mouth to feed." She returns to the kitchen and Ace sags in relief. He walks over to the table and sits down slowly. Dadan places Ace's breakfast in front on him then walks out of the room.

"I have to go to work early today so don't forget to lock the door when you leave." She shouts from the doorway. The boys stay silent until they hear the slam of the door.

Luffy looks up from his breakfast and frowns even deeper at Ace who is merely picking at his eggs. He looks down at his own plate and notices that is only half eaten.

 _What if Sabo hasn't eaten? He's probably being locked up being starved. It doesn't feel right to indulge myself when he might not be getting any at all._ he thinks. He gets up, interrupting the deathly silence, and throws the rest of his food away. He walks next to Ace and stops.

"You gonna eat that?" Luffy asks. Ace groans and pushes it away from him.

"Not hungry." And that was the first time the D boys have ever not finished a meal.

* * *

Ace and Luffy walked to school in silence, jumping at the slightest sounds and examining everyone who walked by. Ace eventually got tired of the tension and decided to speak.

"It's pointless to suspect everyone who passes us Lu." Luffy looks at Ace angrily, then closes his eyes and gives a huge sigh.

"I know, its just paranoia." They walk step for step in silence again. Not even the cheery neighborhood they passed could lift his mood.

"Hey Luffy, when did Sabo text you last?" Luffy gave him a surprised look before checking his phone.

"Two days ago, why?" he asked with serious eyes.

"What did it say?" Luffy hands Ace his phone.

"Where was he going then? Maybe where he was going was trouble." Luffy shakes his head.

"I don't think where he was going was bad. He's not that kind of person, he'd most likely be at home studying or at Koala's." Ace hands Luffy his phone back.

"There's something else, he didn't even mention missing meeting me for lunch. He just gets straight to the point." Suddenly, Luffy stops and stares at the text. Noticing Luffy halt, Ace turns to him.

"What's wrong?" Luffy blinks a few times then looks Ace in the eye.

"What if Sabo didn't go missing yesterday, but before he had to meet you for lunch." Ace's eyes widen in realization.

"But that would mean-"

"Yeah." Luffy resumes walking. "Sabo didn't text me this."

"Damn that bastard." They finally approach the school when Ace grips Luffy's shoulders.

"Listen Luffy, it's important we keep this a secret. One slip of the tongue and they'll kill Sabo." said Ace in a strained voice. With a look of determination, Luffy nods in assurance and they both walk into the school.

"I'll walk you to your locker." Luffy didn't bother protesting and silently walked beside Ace down the hallway.

The further they walked into the school, the more Luffy notices the strange looks their getting. He looks side to side and sees people whispering and pointing at them. Ace fiddles with his backpack strap, also noticing the attention.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Luffy whispered in Ace's ear. Ace gave a shrug, but felt like someone had pinned a sign saying 'Kick me' on his back.

They finally reached Luffy's locker, and Ace leaned on the wall beside it. He glanced to the side and saw a few girls looking at them wide eyed while whispering to each other.

 _Does everyone know about Sabo?_ He thought with a jolt _. That would explain everything, but how would they know exactly?_ He was about to question the girls when a pained yell from Luffy made him jump.

Luffy was lying on the ground while nursing the bruise on his head. Above him stood a very pissed off red head. Behind her were about seven other people with similar looks of anger.

"Namiiii! What was that for?" Luffy wines. Nami smacks him on the head again.

"What do you mean what was that for?! IDIOT WHY DIDNT YOU TELL US ACE WAS YOUR BROTHER?!" Ace blinked in surprise. Was that what everyone was so worked up about?

"Why does it matter? I don't understand why you're so angry about that. It's no big dea-OUCH!" Tears poke the corners of his eyes as he rubs his newly formed bruise.

"Of course it's a big deal! He's the most popular guy in school! How could you leave that big of a detail out?" Usopp asked in disbelief.

"Sorry guys didn't know you wanted to know so bad." Ace takes a look at Luffy's group of friends for the first time. They certainly looked like an off bunch, but apart from the tattoos, long nose and huge Afro, they seemed to care about Luffy a lot. He smiled, but it quickly turned into a yell when he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. He fell to the ground and looked up to see Marco and Thatch glaring down at him.

"Um, hey guys...what's up?" He asks nervously.

"You dumb-ass! Why didn't you tell us you ever had a brother?!" They yelled in unison.

"What are you talking about? Don't you guys remember in grade three when I walked a kid home everyday? That kid was my brother for your information."

"You think we remember something like that-yoi?!" Marco snapped. Thatch then grabbed Ace by the backpack and dragged him to their lockers. Ace gave a wave to Luffy before he disappeared around the corner. Luffy waved back then stands up to face his friends.

"I really am sorry guys. You should've asked." Franky sighed and pat Luffy on the back.

"It's alright Luffy-bro. We forgive you, now hurry up and grab your stuff class starts soon." Luffy smiles and slams his locker shut.

"Thanks guys." Nami falls into step beside him.

"Just because Franky says we forgive you, doesn't mean that I do. You heard me talk about Ace all the time yet you said nothing. You could have helped me out by setting me up on a date or something."

"Oh sorry, guess I didn't pay attention...hahaha." Luffy gives a halfhearted laugh.

"Are you okay Luffy? You seem kinda down." says ViVi, concerned. Luffy blinks at her for a moment then fixes his gaze in front of him.

"Yeah, just feeling a little sick." Chopper immediately jumps in front of Luffy and feels his forehead.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should have stayed home today. Have you had any symptoms? Let me check your vitals to make sure it's nothing serious." Luffy pulls his head away and chuckles at Chopper's antics.

"Chopper, _I'm fine_. Just a little cold that's making me a little distracted is all." he lies.

"I don't know Luffy, I think you should go home." But Luffy shakes his head.

 _Going home alone is a bad idea right now._ "Trust me Chopper, I can tough it out." After one last skeptical look, Chopper gives in.

"Well okay, but don't push yourself!" The group starts to part to their different classes. Nami and Luffy continue to head straight into Shank's class.

"Hello there! How's it going?" Shanks greets with a wide grin. However Luffy doesn't notice and walks straight for his desk beside the window. Shanks gives him a confused look before Nami says his excuse.

"He's not feeling like himself today. He's a bit distracted." Shanks nods understandingly and gives Luffy a concerned look. Luffy however, isn't paying attention and fixes his gaze outside the window, lost in thought.

 _How the hell are we gonna get Sabo back? It's driving gonna drive me to the brink of insanity_. Luffy runs a hand through his hair.

 _We need to find him before that sick bastard does anything to him. Until then, please stay safe!_ Throughout the rest of class Luffy looked out the window, secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of Sabo.

* * *

"Last night was wicked!" said Thatch. After finally forgiving Ace, the three friends were on their way to class.

"Yeah, considering five different people puked on my carpet-yoi." said Marco, annoyed. Thatch gave a shrug.

"It'll come out won't it? Don't be such a ninny. Hey Ace, why couldn't you come? We texted an called you a thousand times." Ace looked away guiltily.

"Um, well..." he began. In reality, after the Sabo incident he had avoided his cell phone for the rest of the night. He was too scared that he'd get another call.

"Sabo was away and I didn't want to leave Luffy alone again." It wasn't technically a lie, but he didn't want to give any details away.

"Sabo, you mentioned that name before. Who's that?" asked Marco.

"My older brother."

They Marco and Thatch stopped and gave Ace similar looks of shock and annoyance.

"He has another one! Why am I not surprised?"

"You know what, I think I remember a guy named Sabo last year. He was the valedictorian, am I right?" Thatch asked Ace.

"That's him." Ace suddenly felt a pang of sadness but pushed it back.

"Wow Ace, some family you got there! Anyone else you want to tell us about?" Marco asks lifting an eyebrow. Ace wasn't listening though as his thoughts had went distant after talking about Sabo. The two friends look at each other then at Ace in concern. The bell rang as soon as they stepped in their morning class with . Everyone looked at Ace as he walked into the classroom, some whispering. Ace ignored them however as called out to him.

"Ace my boy! Why didn't you say that you had a brother? That brat nonetheless." he gave a booming laugh and leaned back in his chair.

 _Jeez it's like wildfire or something_. he thought.

"Just never came up, no one really asked..."

"Do you two have some sort of bad relationship?" he asks, suddenly serious.

"No way! He's the most precious thing to me! I couldn't live without him!" Ace says while balling his hands into fists. He blushes a little when he hears some awws from the class.

Thatch pops up from behind Ace.

"That's not all of it Oyaji! He has another brother! And guess what, it's that super smart guy Sabo who graduated last year!" Some of the class gasps and muttering breaks out. gives another big laugh.

"My my Ace, you've got quite the family tree. I remember Sabo, the kid was quite the rebel. However he has amazing brains, that brat never failed to impress. What's he up to these days?" Ace stands there silently, feeling sick. He wanted to say something but was afraid he'd puke his guts out. Mr. Newgate lifts an eyebrow and is about to say something when Marco interrupts.

"Probably something awesome-yoi! All these D's are cool in their own way hahaha." Not wanting to hear anymore, Ace walks to his desk and slowly sits down. Mr. Newgate looks at Ace in concern then starts his lesson.

Ace is just settling down when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see Haruta, his one girl friend who doesn't freak over his presence.

"You okay Ace? Is everyone bothering you with this brother business?" Ace mumbles he's okay then props his head on his hand, staring out the window.

 _We need Sabo, but how are we going to get him back?_ Ace grounds his teeth in frustration.

 _I will find him, at any cost!_

* * *

Luffy jolts out of his daze when the bell rang loudly.

 _Finally, I couldn't take it anymore_. he packs up his stuff and hurriedly walks out of the classroom.

"Mr. Monkey! Please come here!" Luffy halts and looks exasperatedly at Mr. Burgess.

 _Cmon, I don't have time for this!_ Nonetheless, Luffy grudgingly walks in front of Mr. Burgess's desk and looks at him expectantly.

As everyone filed out of the classroom, Luffy tapped his foot impatiently. Once they were alone finally turned his attention to him.

"I think you dropped something earlier." slides a crumpled piece of paper to Luffy then exits the room.

Luffy looks after him, confused for a moment before examining the piece of paper. He un crumples it and raises an eyebrow. It was a receipt for McDonalds; Luffy looks over it and doesn't understand.

 _This isn't mine, why the heck would he give me this?_ He looks over the receipt and sees that a considerable amount of food had been purchased.

 _Wait a minute I recognize this! It is mine! But I thought it was in my sweater..._ Realization hit him like a slap to the face. He didn't believe it at first, how could they allow someone so vile into the school?

 _Why would he give me this? To scare me? To threaten me somehow?_ Thought Luffy in confusion.

 _Mr. Burgess is dangerous, but how do I expose him for who he is?_ He re-crumples the paper in his fist then walks out of class, shaken.

* * *

After school, the two brothers are walking home together. They had both refused their friends offers to hang out and are now heading home.

Ace and Luffy walked in silence, gloom filling the atmosphere. Ace looks sideways to Luffy and frowns in concern. His eyes were looking down, void of emotion. His shoulders were hunched and he trudged along the sidewalk behind Ace. He felt deeply disturbed; it didn't even look like his brother. Ace stops walking and faced his brother.

"You okay Lu? You're looking worse than usual." Luffy gives a halfhearted shrug.

"Just thinking about Sabo." Luffy mumbled. Truth was, his mind was all over the place with Sabo, Burgess and the lies he's told his friends.

They stand in silence and Ace mentally slaps himself. Of course he's upset about Sabo! What else could it be? Some expert deduction there. He's about to say something when Luffy interrupts him.

"We need to start somewhere Ace, I'm sick of standing around waiting for something to happen."

"Me too, but where do we start? Everything about Sabo is off the map, we don't even know where his car is." Luffy looked down at his feet, deep in thought.

"You said he called you before? Can you call the number again?" Ace pulled out his phone and called the number. After several rings a robotic voice answered the phone.

'We're sorry, this number has been disconnected. If you would like more information please press-' Ace hung up the phone with a 'tch.

"As expected," Ace crossed his arms and closed his eyes in concentration. "Let's see, when Sabo dropped us off at school the other day, he was going to college. I wonder if he made it there..."

"Let's go check it out then!"

"We'll go another day, I want to have lots of time to look around the college. Besides, I don't want Dadan or our friends to be suspicious of what's going on so we need to go home for now." Luffy was about to protest, but caught himself. Ace was right, they didn't want to put Sabo in danger by taking too big of a risk.

"Okay, fine. We'll go when we have an open schedule. I don't like waiting though! What if something happens to Sabo in that time?"

"...I have faith that he'll be fine. I don't like waiting as much as you but taking risks is something we can't afford now." Ace didn't say it out loud, but he had a feeling they were constantly being watched. He wanted to try and shake them off first before doing any investigating.

"I'm scared Ace. Nothing like this has happened before, why now?" Ace gives a big sigh.

"I don't know what this person wants, or why he grabbed Sabo, but we have to do our best to get to Sabo before he finds out."

They stand in silence for awhile then resume walking side by side like nothing happened. They both felt slightly refreshed, a talk with each other was what they needed.

They headed home and suddenly the happy, cheery gardens and critters look cruel.

 **Omake:**

"Okay guys, we need to get the point across." says Usopp to their crew.

They were all hiding by Luffy's locker, waiting to confront him about his brother.

"But how do we tell him without hurting his feelings? He might get sad if he sees we're mad at him for lying." ViVi says with worry.

"But we are mad though! Luffy never told us about his brother after all we've been through!" said Franky, agitated.

"I think we need to approach this carefully, we need to get the point across yet we don't want him to feel too guilty about it." said Zoro.

"I think ViVi should do it then, she's always the nicest to Luffy." Chopper piped up.

"Okay then, let's go! Wait where's Nami?" They all look around in confusion when they hear a distinctive "ow!"

"Or we could go with old fashioned Nami way."

 _What to expect next time: Blood and Blackmail._

 **Escarlates: Your questions are plenty but THEY WILL ALL BE ANSWERED EVENTUALLY I AM SURE OF THAT! So please enjoy the story and wait until your questions are answered… also, I know how much you want Sabo to be rescued, but that will not happen for a 'very' long time. Sorry and Dadan does suck, it will be pointed out later.**

 **THANK YOU PEOPLE WHO FAVED AND FOLLOWED YOU ARE DA BOMB!**

 **Please let me know if you like the story or have any comments of encouragement or constructive criticism!**

 _Until next time~_


	8. Chapter 8

**Longest chapter! 6,089 words**

 _Realized that there's New World College and New World High, try not to get confused._

 _Warning for swearz and blooooooodz_

 **DISCLAIMER : ONE PIECE AINT MINE**

They didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then it happened too regularly to be ignored. Luffy's friends noticed how often the straw-hatted teen visited his brother during lunch breaks and in between classes. Usually they wouldn't mind it too much, but it was weird how in depth and serious the conversations were. Yet, when they accompanied Luffy to talk to Ace, they seemed a big more upbeat, more _fake._

Since the news of being siblings spread around the school, more girls would approach Luffy in attempt to get closer to his brother. However, when he would be hanging out with Nami, ViVi or Robin at the time, the girls would be mean to them. Luffy didn't like that so he would give hard looks to whatever girl would go near him or Ace.

The crew was a bit concerned at Luffy's attitude change; he would usually be oblivious and forgiving. However this time he had a more conserved and shy personality. He and Ace had both changed actually; they both seemed to be glummer compared to their normal selves. Whenever they were asked about it, they straighten their slouched shoulders and give false smiles for the rest of the day.

It hurt them to see the brothers like this, when they invited Luffy over to hang out he would be constantly distracted and flinch at every sound. When they tried to consult him he would just shrug and snap out of his gloom. When they asked him to hang out the next day he declined.

"Sorry guys, I'm busy with Ace today. Maybe later kay?"

"Sure Luffy, we'll see you later." Nami replied. The crew reluctantly departed from their leader but ViVi remained behind.

"Luffy, are you feeling okay? You seem really...distracted." she asked rubbing her arm.

"What are you talking about ViVi? I'm just fine!" Vivi flinched. She could hear the strain in his voice.

"Luffy, if you need anything, your friends will always be here for you."

"Thanks Vivi, it's nice to know. I'll see you later!" He gave her a small wave and jogged away from Zoro's place.

He felt guilty for lying to his friends, 'really' guilty. But today was the day he and Ace were finally going to the college. It was the perfect time, Ace didn't have football practice, Dadan was out late working, it was a Sunday and Ace's friends were both busy with their own schedules.

Luffy jogged a few blocks from Zoro's house where Ace was waiting.

"C'mon Lu we haven't got all day."

"Sorry, my friends wanted me to hang out." he shrugs. Ace notices the sad look on Luffy's face and squeezes his brothers' shoulder.

"Don't worry Lu, the sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can go back to our normal lives." he reassures Luffy.

"Let's go then. Good thing we have a four day weekend to think about this." They walk along the streets towards the college, exchanging information as they went.

"Any ideas on who would possibly want to do this?" Ace asked. Luffy looked up at the sky with a frown on his face. Should he tell him? They need to explore all possible leads, but...

"What Lu?" He stopped walking and looked at his brother seriously. "Do you have _any_ idea of who did this?" Luffy shifted his feet and looked away from Ace. Ace got frustrated and grabbed his brothers' shoulders and shook him.

"Luffy! This is serious! Anything could be helpful right now! Please! Why won't you tell me?!" Luffy shrugged himself free and turned away.

"Okay! Okay...I'll tell you. But just don't freak out okay?" Ace remained quiet but looked at his brother in concern. Luffy took a big breath and began.

"You and Sabo were right... I should have moved classes as soon as he came here. I thought he was just being weird at first but...he took it out of hand."

"Who Lu? What are you talking about?" Ace jumped back startled when his brother spun around to face him.

"Mr. Burgess damn it! I was so stupid to ever think he had changed..." He licked his dry lips and looked away.

"The first day he was in class, it was just the little things you know? The weird stares, the small touches and things like that. I didn't think about it too much, thought I was just imagining it.

"But...the night you were at Marco's house, something happened. I helped a girl named Rebecca that was getting hurt by a man in the alleyway. After she went away, another guy grabbed me and pulled me back." Luffy swallowed and didn't look at Ace's face. He was afraid to.

"He did...things...to me and in the scuffle I dropped a receipt on the ground. Well after I managed to escape, thanks to Rebecca, I went home. No troubles. But..." Luffy's eyes widened and he clenched his fists.

"A few days ago, Mr. Burgess called to talk to me after class. I didn't think much of it until he gave me a piece of paper and left. I didn't think it was mine at first, but I recognized it as the receipt I dropped. It's _him_ and I didn't even know it! Now that sicko is walking around the school doing as he pleases!" He took a few breaths to calm himself then stilled when his ears met silence.

'Ace…' Luffy reluctantly turned his head to look at his brother who had his eyes shaded by his bangs. Upon closer inspection he could see that his brother was shaking.

Ace finally looked at his brother in a pure rage that made Luffy flinch back. "'That fucking bastard! How could he?! Luffy! Why the fucking hell didn't you tell me earlier?! How could you let him rule over you like that?! I don't even understand how you can tolerate being in the same room as him!" Luffy looked away guiltily, unable to meet his brothers' eyes.

"Ace...I'm sorry..." he protested weakly.

"No Luffy! You shouldn't be the one apologizing; I should be going over and murdering that bastard right now! If he's doing something like this to you, then of course he's got Sabo! _The fucking bastard!_ Why else would he let you know he did it?! For sick satisfaction?! Your _my_ little brother, it's my job to protect you yet I let this guy fricking _molest_ you-"

"ACE!" Ace stopped his rant, but his temper didn't cool down after his brothers shout.

"Please! This is why I didn't tell you! You would definitely do something rash and go straight to him without any evidence whatsoever! We have nothing to prove that he did it and we would have gotten in trouble, or worse, accusing him could make him kill Sabo!"

"But Luffy! That doesn't mean you should keep such a secret on your shoulders! Please Luffy! Tell me these things! It makes me feel useless when I can't protect you from something I know I can!" Something in Luffy broke and tears began to fall from his eyes. They both stood there in silence, Luffy wiping his eyes and Ace catching his breath.

"I'm sorry! I just didn't want him hurting you, I have no idea what he's capable of." He wiped his eyes again and sniffed. Luffy suddenly felt Ace's arms envelop him in a hug.

"Jeez Lu, you strong little idiot." Luffy gave a weak laugh. "In case you didn't notice, all three of us depend on each other. Sabo and me are the ones who are here to make your life as easy as possible with guidance and shit. So that means you can tell us anything. _Anything_. Got it?" He pet Luffy's hair and felt his own tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah Ace, it won't happen again." Ace let go of Luffy and gave him a friendly nudge.

"I don't know about you, but I think we have a good lead on this. We just need to find the right proof." Luffy nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, and we can't raise suspicion while doing it either. How are we gonna approach the college?"

Ace scratched his chin in thought.

"Well, if Sabo drove there, I think we should check the parking lot for his car. We should also ask teachers if they have seen Sabo around and check the security cameras."

"That's gonna be kinda hard making that all seem normal."

"We have no other choice though, we have to try our best by all means necessary and stay below the radar."

They headed off to the college with renewed determination. They were done with sulking in the dark; they were ready to find their brother.

* * *

When they finally reached the college, they had a look around the parking lot but could not find the blue car anywhere. After some deliberation, they decided to split up and ask Sabo's professors if they had seen him around.

"Kay Lu, I'll take two professors and you take the other two. I'll see if I can get into the security cameras. Text me when your done."

"Got it. Good luck." Ace walked down the right hallway while Luffy walked to the left. Luffy walked down the classrooms until he came across a door that had one of the professor's names on it. He lightly knocked on the door then pushed it open. It was a spacious classroom with large windows and long walls. There was a fair amount of desks placed in the room with a large chalkboard up front.

Standing in the front of the classroom was Professor Yasopp and another man. Luffy felt a smile grow on his face when he saw Yasopp. He was Usopp's father; he had met him several times when he went over to his friend's house. He liked the man, he was really funny and he was also the champion of water balloon battles.

"Yasopp!" The two men turned from each other and Yasopp gave a big smile.

"Luffy! Long time no see! How's it going." He walked over to the boy and smacked him in the back.

"Pretty good," he lied. "How's things over here?"

"Bah, it's boring as always. I need Sabo to liven things up." Ben walked up beside Yasopp.

"Yeah, that kid brings the joy back into this place. I'm Professor Ben, Sabo's teacher. I take it you are his brother?" Luffy took the extended hand and shook it in greeting.

"That's right." He dropped his hand to the side and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

 _How do I bring this up...ugh this is harder than I thought._ He was about to attempt a question when Yasopp spoke up first.

"Luffy, where'd Sabo go? Last time I saw him was about four days ago!"

 _Bingo! Four days ago...that was the day he went out for lunch with Ace. Looks like he left for Ace but never reached the school._

"-uffy? Luffy? You listening to me?" Luffy snapped out of his daze.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, well um Sabo went away on a trip with some friends. It was kind of a sudden thing so no one really knew about it."

 _Thats good! Sounds believable._

"That's kind of irresponsible of him to leave when he has school. So unlike him, must've really wanted to go on that trip." Benn pointed out.

"Well yeah, he really did. I just came around to pick up any notes that he might have missed." Yasopp raised an eyebrow.

"He told you to do that?" Luffy began to feel nervous.

"Um yes."

"Hold on a sec, I think I may have something." Yasopp ran to his desk and dug some papers out and handed them to Luffy.

"I typically don't give students their notes, however Sabo is a great student so he's an exception." Luffy gives a grin and takes the papers under his arm.

"Thanks Yasopp! See ya later! Oh and nice meeting you Professor Benn!" Luffy gave a wave then ran out of the classroom.

The two teachers stood and watched the teen run out the door.

"What a good kid, kinda loud, but good." Benn pointed out. He glanced at Yasopp who was still looking out the door with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" Yasopp hesitated before turning back to Benn.

"It's just my son Usopp told me that Luffy has been a little, troubled, lately. It worries me."

"Well he seemed fine when he came in here, seems like a nice kid to come and pick up his brothers work."

"Yeah, he's quite something all right." Yasopp chuckled. "I hope he'll get over whatever mood he's in."

"Well, he's a teenager. They have their moods." Benn points out.

"Yeah, but he's no ordinary teenager."

Over in Luffy's point of view, he was jogging out the door and released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

 _That was close, good thing Yasopp loves to talk._ Since he managed to talk to the two teachers in one shot, Luffy pulled out his phone and texted Ace.

 ** _'Got some info, I'll be waiting at the meeting place.'_** Luffy clicked off his phone and speed walked down the hallway.

* * *

When Ace visited the two (rather grumpy) professors, they had given him no helpful information whatsoever and had hardly even known whom he was talking about.

 _Damn professors and their good for nothing brains._ So that is what led to Ace angrily walking down the hallways searching for anything that could lead him to the security cameras in this place.

After a heck of a lot of rooms, nothing really stood out. He felt a vibration in his pocket and took the cell phone out. Ace sat down on the bench and read Luffy's text.

 _He's got something? Thank goodness cause I've gotten no where._ He was about to head back, but stopped when he listened to two college students walking by.

"Man the campus PD is so annoying. Why did they have to stop me?"

"I know right? You only threw a few eggs at the window, how did they even catch you."

"The fuckers looked at the video footage. Those things are seriously annoying we should take em' down."

"Yeah, then we can-"

"Excuse me?" The two men turned around to look at Ace.

"Um what is it?" one asked him.

"You said that the campus PD has video camera footage?"

"Well yeah, those guys enforce the rules and they need that to catch all the troublemakers around here. Why? Did you do something bad you need erased?" The man snickered.

"Um, yeah. Caught some stuff on fire and I don't want them to figure out it was me."

"Nice dude! I wish you good luck!" They started to walk away when Ace called them back.

"Hold on! Well I uh, get lost here a lot so could you tell me where the PD office is?" he asked awkwardly.

"Wow man you must get lost a lot. The campus PD is a separate building entirely. Just go out the exit over there and when you see the round building covered in windows, you know your there."

"Thanks man, I owe you a ton."

"Aw it's nothing, just a heads up, if your gonna try and sneak in there I suggest you be very sneaky. They won't let just anyone look at the footage. Not even if you ask." Ace gave them a slight bow.

"Thanks for the tip!"

"No problem, us badasses got to stick together right?" They held their fists out for a fist bump. Ace reluctantly hit their knuckles against his.

"Say, I haven't seen you around here much. What's your name?" One asks.

"Um, Sabo I'm on my freshman year."

 _Please have not met Sabo yet, please have not met Sabo yet..._

"Really? You seem a bit young for that. Well anyway, my names Johnny. And this one here is Yosaku." Ace did an inward sigh of relief.

"Yeah, well it's was nice meeting you but I've got to go." Before the two could say anything more Ace jogged out the exit.

 _Man those guys are way too talkative. At least they told me where to find the cameras._ Ace walked along the relatively empty campus until he came upon the campus PD building. He slowly approached it and took some time to look through the windows. Inside was a simple spacious lobby with one guard behind the massive desk up front. Behind him was a door that was seemingly locked. Ace casually observed the room as he walked towards the building. Off to the side, there were two elevators that led to what he guessed was the second floor of the building.

 _Crap, how am I going to find the room in this place! I should have asked Johnny and Yosaku._

Not being able to turn back, Ace nervously walked into the building towards the front desk. The guard was apparently taking an urgent call judging by his body language.

When Ace reached the front desk, he put an arm on the edge and took a relaxed posture. The man looked up at him briefly before lifting his index finger in a silent 'wait a moment'.

He shuffled his feet around and looked around the room for some sort of map but found nothing.

"Are you sure they're down there? Graham! Can you see them?" He shouts to the door behind him. Said door opens for a brief moment when 'Graham' steps out.

"Yeah, he's over near the bathrooms. That guys sneaky, but we finally caught him!" Graham ran out the door while shrugging on his jacket that has SECURITY in big letters plastered on the back.

Taking advantage of the small distraction, Ace peers into the door and smirks in triumph. Bingo! Camera room found!

"Can I help you sir?" Ace snapped out of his thoughts and faced the security guard.

"Um yes, I'd like to report a fire that's being started at this moment by a few students."

"Where is it?"

"Main building, fourth floor and second room to the right. I tried to stop it but they threatened to beat me if I went any closer." Ace had no idea what he was talking about; he just hoped it made sense to the man.

The guard was scribbling notes on a piece of paper, no doubt a report and asked Ace another question.

"What's your name boy?"

"Sabo, first year." After a few more scribbles, the man grabbed the phone and called someone.

 _Wow is Sabo this unpopular in school? No one knows who he is!_

"Yes, I have a report of a fire being started in the main building, fourth floor...What...Okay then." The man sighed and got up from the desk.

"Looks like I'll have to handle it myself, stay here and someone will be here to take my place soon." He took a moment to take the fire extinguisher off the wall before running out of the building. Ace waited until he was out of sight then tip toed around to the slightly open door behind the desk. He carefully pushed it open, flinching when there was a loud squeak. He looked around the dark room and released a relieved sigh upon seeing the room was empty.

The camera room was a small square shape with boxes lining the left and right on metal shelves. The front of the room was entirely covered in television screens showing different activity throughout the school.

 _Now which one is the parking lot..._ He looked through the screens and realized that every sixty seconds different footage in a separate location was showing on the screen.

 _So that's why no one noticed anything about Sabo, the cameras could have been away from the parking lot in that sixty second period. Though, he could have been kidnapped in another location entirely, but I doubt it. He was going straight to the school and wouldn't be making any stops._ Ace turned to look at the stacks of boxes next to him.

 _Whether they saw him or not, the cameras did. So I need to find the disk with that day of footage._ Looking through the stacks of boxes, Ace growled to himself. Why couldn't they label the damn things! He started on the first box and looked through the dates on them.

 _Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, here!_ Ace pulls the box out of the shelf and goes through the disks.

 _Damn it! These have no identification whatsoever! I'm gonna have to take them all and watch them myself._ Ace picks up the box and staggered at the weight of it. His head snapped to the entrance when he heard footsteps approaching the door. In a panic, Ace looked around desperately for some place to hide.

 _Shit! The room is so small! There isn't anywhere to go!_ With the person quickly approaching Ace quickly dived for the wall beside the door. He held the box to his chest and stood extremely still.

He heard the footsteps stop, then start again as he opened the door. To enter the room, he had to push the door open, effectively covering Ace. He held his breath and squeezed the box even tighter. The man walked slowly in the room, looking slightly confused and mumbling something about the door being unlocked. He eventually gave up being confused and turned to shut the door.

Thinking quickly, Ace sunk to the ground and hoped the darkness would camouflage his movements. And it did, the man didn't notice the huddled figure on the ground when he closed the door, enveloping the room in darkness save for the light of the computer screens.

After the man had taken his seat and focused on the activities in front if him, Ace slowly stood up and grasped the doorknob.

 _I've got to do this fast. Okay, three, two, and one..._ Ace swiftly turned the knob and opened the door. He quickly shut it behind him and leaned against it, trying to get over the adrenaline rush. After a few moments Ace quickly walked out of the building with the box under his arm trying to look as casual as possible.

After he had made some distance, Ace pulled out his phone and called Luffy.

"Ace? Where are you?"

"Meet me out front. I snagged some camera footage and we need to get out of here before they find out."

"Gotcha, I'll be there." Feeling a little paranoid, he jogged out front to where Luffy was and they casually walked away from the college.

"So that's the camera footage?" Luffy asks, nodding to the box.

"That's right, it's all from Wednesday. Talk about easy-in-easy-out. Hahaha! By the way, what are those papers in your arm?" Luffy gives him a skeptical look, then takes the papers out.

"It's notes that Sabo missed from his lecture, I had to give some excuse as to why I was there."

"Oh yeah, what did they say?"

"Just as we thought, they haven't seen him since Wednesday, the day he was supposed to meet you for lunch. They said he left abruptly, not saying anything at all." Luffy explains.

"No doubt about it, whatever happened to Sabo is on these tapes!" As they finally approach their house, the brothers stop dead in their tracks. They both pale and Luffy wipes his eyes, wondering if it was an illusion.

Sitting there, in their supposedly empty driveway was a junky, old, blue beat up car.

"No way...is that?" Luffy stutters.

"Sabo's car," says Ace quietly. "But does that mean that he's here?" Luffy steps towards it then freezes. He beckons Ace to him with a hand and he stands next to Luffy at the side of the convertible.

Ace chokes back a yell of shock when he sees a message painted in blood on the right side of the car saying; Stop looking.

Luffy is about to say something (or yell) but Ace stops him when he sees Marco and Thatch walking down the street.

"What the hell are they doing here?!" Realizing they need to wash the car, Luffy runs and quickly turns on the hose. He and Ace desperately rinse off the message before Marco and Thatch notice them.

"Ace? That you?" Luffy was just finished rinsing when the two walked up to them. They brothers looked at them, startled.

"Er, yeah. What are you guys doing here?" Ace asks.

"Well we were going to the mall, but I didn't know you lived here! I was always curious." said Thatch.

"Yeah, hey Luffy. How's it going-yoi?" Marco asked, turning to the younger brother.

"Pretty good, thanks for asking." They stand there in silence before Ace speaks up.

"Do you guys want to come in?" Luffy whips his head to look at Ace saying a silent 'no'.

"What? Seriously? Man we've never been to your house before, you feeling alright?" Thatch put a hand on Ace's forehead. Ace pulled his face away and snorted.

"Just never had the time, hold on a second we need to unlock the door first." Ace turned to Luffy and willed him up the stairs. When Marco and Thatch weren't paying attention, he leaned over and whispered to Luffy.

"We have no idea if Sabo came home or whatever the hell is in our house. But judging by the blood, I don't think its Sabo. So when we go in, quietly search around for anything. If something goes bad we'll shove them out the door, got it?" Luffy gave a curt nod and put the key inside the doorknob. He turned the lock and pushed, but the door was already creaking open. They look at each other in a slight panic.

 _Shit! They came into our house!_

"What's taking so long-yoi? Ace, is turning a key too hard for you?" Marco joked. The two friends walked past the brothers into the house. Luffy jumped in front of them with his hands up.

"Wait!" They look at him in confusion. Luffy scrambled through his brain for an excuse.

"Um, take your shoes off before coming into the house! I'm responsible for cleaning it off and id rather not deal with extra chores for today." he rambled. Luffy turned around and jogged upstairs in the eerie house. Marco and Thatch looked at Ace.

"What's his deal?" they ask as they take their shoes off. Ace ignores them and walks down the hallway to look around the kitchen. After close inspection, he deems it safe for his friends.

They both walk into the kitchen as Ace sets the box down under the television set. Marco nods towards the box.

"What's that?"

"It's a bunch of old home movies from gramps that he gave us." he lied.

"No way! Is there stuff of you in there? I've got to see this!" Thatch gets up to grab them but Ace steps in his way.

"No! I mean, there aren't any of us in there. Just ones of gramps and his dad." he explains hastily.

"Okay! Jeez you and your brother are so jumpy. What's up man?" Ace rolls his eyes and goes into his room.

"The sky!" He shouts. He quickly throws their covers off their beds and looks through their stuff to see if anything was missing. After taking a quick look in their bathroom, he sighs in relief. Looks like they didn't touch the main floor.

Ace entered the living room when Luffy came back down the stairs. The brothers both exchanged silent looks and Luffy gave him thumbs up. Ace returns the gesture and they both sag in relief, they guess they just left the door unlocked. That would definitely _not_ happen again.

"I'm gonna take a loooooooong shower." Luffy trudges over to their room and into their personal bathroom.

"You have such a big house-yoi! How can you and your brothers afford to live in here?" Marco whistles in amazement.

"We don't, we live with our 'caretaker' who's pretty much a drunken mess all the time. But she cooks for us and pays the bills, so she's okay I guess. We're looking for a new apartment for the three of us to live in instead." Ace replies, filling a cup of water. He struggled to keep his arm straight as he filled the glass; he was so scared that someone came into the house. Not to mention the message on the car.

 _Stop looking? That bastards got eyes on us everywhere!_

"My my Ace, your family is so messed up man. First, a mad prankster, second, a crazy genius and three, a drunk caretaker." said Thatch shaking his head with a smirk.

Ace just shrugs and sips his water, all his thoughts returning to the message on the car.

* * *

Luffy closes the bathroom door and sags against it. He put his hands on his face and took deep breaths.

 _Just when we've gotten somewhere! That bastard has to come and tell us to stop looking! How did he even know where we were? What do we do now?_ He shakes his head hopelessly and turns on the shower. He needed a little steam to clear his thoughts.

He opens the shower curtains and notices that there wasn't any shampoo bottles on the shelf. Figuring Ace used the last of it; Luffy turned around and opened the cabinet under the sink to get more. He shuffled around the cabinet until he found the shampoo he was looking for.

Luffy was about to close the cabinet when he saw a piece of paper attached to their apartment fund jar. Curious, he took the paper and on the front was an odd looking symbol. It had two letters that looked like D's and they were side by side in bold letters. Surrounding it was a thin circle with an arrow pointing through it.

He furrows his eyebrows and reads the letter;

 _'Dear D brothers,_

 _It seems that you've made good progress in your savings. However some of this money is stolen, as you have taken it from me. I'd appreciate it if I got it back. I will text you where to drop the money off, unless you don't value your brothers life._

 _Best of luck.'_

Luffy sits on the ground and covers his mouth so he wouldn't scream out any curses.

 _So they did get into the house, and this is what they wanted! The money! How did they get in here? Could they get into the house the whole time?!_ He shakily stands up and grips the sink, looking at his reflection.

 _We need to get the jump on this guy! If we meet him giving the money, this might just be the chance we need to catch him._ Luffy jumps in the shower, but keeps the curtain open out of paranoia.

In the kitchen, Marco and Thatch really wanted to ask Ace about his weird attitude and attachment to his brother but they didn't know how to approach him. He would always push them away.

"So Ace, do you want to hang out today? We both tried to text you all day but you didn't answer." said Thatch.

"Sorry, phone died." Ace weakly responded. "And I can't anyway, don't want to leave my brother alone." Thatch rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"He's like, 16. He can handle himself, Luffy can't be that much of a troublemaker."

"No, I'm not leaving him alone."

"Why don't you call your other brother to stay with him? Sabo?" Ace gripped the cup in his hand, knuckles going white.

"I can't. He's away on a college trip for awhile, I'm not leaving Luffy alone until he gets back."

"But Ace-" Marco stops his sentence when Luffy walks in with wet hair and a towel around his neck. He's wearing a big grin as he approaches the group.

"Sorry guys, you might want to leave. Our caretaker Dadan is going to be home soon and she didn't want anyone over today." He leans towards them and whispers; "last time someone did that she threw her beer bottles at them." Ace gives Luffy a confused look; she wasn't supposed to be back until late tonight.

Marco and Thatch quickly get up and run to the exit yelling hasty goodbyes to the brothers. As soon as they hear the door slam, Luffy's face drops into one of terror. He grabs Ace's wrist and drags him to their bathroom.

"What's wrong Lu? Why'd you get rid of them?" But Luffy doesn't answer until he pulls out their apartment fund and shoves the letter in his face.

As Ace reads the letter he first has a look of disbelief, then of anger. He crumples the letter and throws it in the trash.

"What does he mean it belongs to him? When have we ever stolen money?! Damn it!" He slams his fist on the sink. Luffy un crumples the note and points at the symbol on the front.

"What do you think this is?" he asks. Ace smooth's it out and looks at it from different angles.

"Some sort of company logo it looks like, but I've never seen anything like this before. Maybe it's their own personal mark."

"Either way," Luffy takes the letter and rips it. "We have to give him five thousand dollars of our hard earned money." They both glare at the massive jar (should be called a jug). Ace released a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll give it to them, if that's what'll keep Sabo alive." He picks up the jar and brings it over to the kitchen.

"I wonder, why didn't he just take the jar when he came in the house?" Luffy thinks aloud.

"Probably to provoke us somehow."

"Or he wants to ambush us. Ace, he's just going to want more and more. He might just be lying that Sabo is still alive. What if-" Ace suddenly grabs him in a hug, effectively cutting Luffy off.

"Stop thinking so negative, we've got a chance to catch this guy. We can't mess this up. We 'won't' mess this up. But to so this we need to stay calm got it? We can't already be giving up hope." Ace squeezed Luffy tighter and felt a smile on his chest.

"Thanks for being such an awesome brother. Even though I'm annoying."

"Yeah well, it's my job to endure the annoying." But Ace still felt a spark of warmth in his chest after the comment.

Suddenly, they both hear their phones vibrate in their pockets. The brothers separate and look at each other. They slowly pull the phones out of their pockets and look at the text they received;

 _ **Leave the money in a bag on the swing at the park two blocks from where you live. If I see either of you there, there will be consequences. Come tomorrow at 10:00 am.**_

 **Omake:** A man runs back into the campus PD building covered in foam. The other guard behind the desk whistles in wow.

"What happened to you?" The foamed-man angrily stomps over to him and flicks foam in his face.

"That 'guy' named Sabo said there was a couple of kids starting a fire on the fourth floor of the main building." The man behind the desk wipes his face and looks confused.

"Yeah? So did you get them?" The foam man grit his teeth in anger.

"There wasn't anyone there! The classroom wasn't even disturbed. So, I was walking back when two idiots came out of no where and sprayed me with extinguishers! And when I asked their name, they said it was Sabo! What's with that name causing trouble everywhere?!" The man behind the desk laughs and accidentally spills his coffee all over the foamed-man. He yelps and wiped at his scolding clothes.

"Why did you do that?!"

The desk-man shrugs."Sorry, Sabo told me to."

 _Yeah I'm bad at omakes. Literally making them up on the spot tiredly after I finish a chapter._

 **What to expect next time: ambushing an ambush.**

 **Escarlates: Thank you for the praise! I would like to point out that the substance on the car is indeed blood. Creeeepy.**

 _A big thanks to all the people who followed the story!_

 _Until next time~_


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 8**

 **I was freaking out at the amount of favs, follows and reviewers! I mean, 6 reviews on one chapter?! What is this madness?! I was so happy it inspired me to write three chapters in one week! I'm on frigging chapter 15 now! So thank you SOOO much you made me so happy!**

 _Warning for violence and swearz_

 **DISCLAIMER**

The next day the two brothers woke up super early and were quiet as to not disturb Dadan. They packed the money away and dressed in mostly black. Ace sneakily tucked a knife in his boot, just in case. Because Luffy never takes off his hat, he simply let it hang off his back by the string and covered it with his hood.

At around 7:00 am they walked around town, unable to sit still. They worked off their anxiousness by going to a breakfast restaurant and ordered something to eat.

"You remember the plan Lu?" Ace asked, sipping his orange juice.

"Yeah," Luffy swallowed his eggs. " we place the money and hide nearby, waiting for them to show up. When they come and take the money, we jump out and pin them to the ground to interrogate them about Sabo." Ace nods.

"If we can't make him talk, we're going to have to move him some place else to interrogate him for longer."

"Do you think this will work Ace?" Ace swirls his straw around his drink absent-mindedly.

"I can't guarantee anything, but we can't afford to mess this up. I don't know when we'll get another chance like this."

 _'I also don't think he only wants the money. He wants something else, but I'll keep Luffy safe. I won't let them hurt him.'_

After lamenting in the restaurant for several hours, they finally left for the park. They made sure to take a secluded pathway to not be seen. After walking down a long grassy trail, they approached the playground.

It was quite the creepy setting, surrounding the small play structure was large trees and bushes that effectively cut it off from civilization. The play structure was at the center of the trees with the blazing sun concentrating on that one spot.

There were a few rusty slides, monkey bars and a small merry go round in the clearing. Ace tapped Luffy on the shoulder and pointed to the swings that were gently swaying to the breeze.

Ace and Luffy calmly stepped out of the leafy path and slowly walked towards the swings. Ace kept a straight gaze and a firm grip on the bag. Luffy casually glanced side to side at the trees surrounding them. They stopped at the swing and Ace carefully balanced the bag on it.

 _'Good bye apartment fund.'_ He shoved his hands in his pockets and they both walked away down the path they had originally went down. They walked until they were just out of sight before cutting across back into the woods. They carefully navigated through the trees and bushes back towards the park. The brothers eventually ducked down behind the bushes right next to the clearing and crawled to a location closer to the swings. They managed to settle in a spot under some bushes and waited to spring into action at whoever came around.

Eventually seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to hours and still not one person entered the park. The brothers were uncomfortable and thirsty, but didn't complain as they waited. Eventually, 2 hours later there was movement down the main path. They both suddenly turned alert and watched the figure approach the swings. It appeared to be a teenager around Ace's age who was trying to act nonchalant around the swings. The man soon got tired of waiting and snagged the bag and took a peak at the contents inside.

Ace and Luffy finally decided it was time to strike. So as soon as the man closed the bag, they jumped out and tackled him to the ground. The man let out a surprised yelp as Ace punched him in the face. He tried to pry Ace off but Luffy pinned his arms above his head.

"You bastard! What do you think your doing?!" The man protested. Ace ignored him and punched him in the stomach. He was too in a rage. This was the guy that took his brother!

Luffy reached out and pulled back the man's hood. Ace looked startled for a moment at the battered face in front of him.

"Bellamy?" Luffy looks confusedly at Ace.

"You know this guy?" said Luffy as he walked behind the two to the moneybag discarded on the ground. Ace looks at Bellamy in confusion.

"Yeah, he's in most of my classes..." Ace quickly snaps out of his confusion and slams Bellamy into the ground.

"What the hell Bellamy?! I knew you hated me but you've taken this way too far! The fuck man, how dare you threaten my brother! I'm gonna kill you!" He's about to punch Bellamy when he speaks up through bruised and bloody lips.

"Wait! Ace! I didn't do anything to you! Some guy just paid me to take the bag and give it to him! I swear!" He sniffs as his nose starts to bleed.

"Well who is it? Who paid you to deliver the bag?!" Ace demands. Suddenly there's a thump of a heavy object and a yelp. Ace looks behind him to see Luffy slump to the ground. Ace sees behind Luffy there was a large figure with a baseball bat run to the money on the ground.

Ace got off of Bellamy and stumbled towards the man running off with the money.

 _'Shit!'_ He follows the man for a while but stops when he hears a groan from behind him.

"Luffy!" He runs back to his brother and examined the bloody wound on his head. It looked horrible at first glance with the mess of blood and the massive bruise, but it didn't look very serious. The man didn't put that much effort into the swing. Ace tried to lift him up but Luffy moaned in pain. Getting worried, he turned to Bellamy.

"Hey! Give me a hand-" he cuts himself off when he sees that Bellamy is already gone.

"Damn it! Sorry for this Luffy." He pulls Luffy up to his feet and wraps one arm around his shoulder. Luffy's face contorts in pain and Ace carries him to the house.

As soon as he opens their door he calls out Dadan's name. When his ears meet silence he sighs in relief.

 _'Good thing she's not here, that would have raised questions.'_ He stumbles over through the kitchen to their living room and lays his unconscious brother on the couch.

He props Luffy's head on a pillow and rushes to the kitchen to grab a cloth and wet it in warm water. He then hurried over and does his best to dab the blood from his brother's head. After that Ace goes into the cabinet in the bathroom and pulls out a roll of bandages, he jogs to Luffy and neatly wraps his head. When he finished, he sinks into the couch next to his brother and looks guiltily at his sleeping form.

 _'Fuck, we were so close!_ So close! _But now that he saw us, he said there was consequences, but was hitting Luffy the punishment?'_ He looks at Luffy and breaks down for the first time since Sabo left.

' _What kind of big brother am I?! I promised to protect him but I let this happen to him! I'm sorry Luffy, I'm so so sorry!'_ He covered his face in his arms as broken sobs racked his body. After a few minutes he reduced to a few sniffles. He looked up from his arms at Luffy who was still unconscious, glad that his little brother didn't see him cry.

Ace got up and decided to make himself useful by going through the disks. He pulled the box from under the television and groaned at the amount of footage.

' _Damn it, there's a million disks in here! This is going to take forever!'_ Nonetheless, he takes the first disk and puts it in the DVD player. The image that pops up on the screen was of what appeared to be the science room. Knowing it wasn't what he wanted; he skipped by every thirty seconds to see if there was any footage of the parking lot. After several minutes of skipping, there was no film of Sabo. He ruffled his hair in frustration and gave an evil eye to the box.

 _'This is going to be a long day.'_

* * *

Ace spent the entire day shifting through the endless disks. Even though it had found footage of the parking lot, it wasn't at the correct time. Ace gave up when the light started to fade outside. He decided to finish the rest of the disks the next day.

The whole time he watched the videos, Luffy had been unconscious. He only awoke briefly when he asked for water then crashed again.

Ace popped the disk from the player and packed up the box. He twisted his aching back from side to side until he felt a relieving crack in his spine. Ace slowly rose and went to his room where he slid the box under his bed for safekeeping. Ace gave a large yawn then decided it was time to sleep. Today's event had left him exhausted and frustrated and he needed to sleep it off. Ace walked back to the living room and picked Luffy up bridal style. Luffy let out a small moan of discomfort as Ace carried him to their room and tucked him into bed.

Ace rubbed his eyes and fell down on the bed, letting the black waves claim him.

* * *

The next morning Luffy wakes up to rays of sunshine shining through the curtains. He scrunches his face in discomfort at the brightness and pulls the comforter over his head.

He abruptly sits up as he remembered the events that had conspired. He clutched his head in pain as his headache flares to life at the sudden movement.

 _'Gah, what the hell? What happened to my head? What happened...yesterday?'_ Judging by the rising sun, he assumed a day had passed since their expedition.

' _Have I really been asleep that long? And whom was Bellamy delivering the package to? I don't remember at all.'_ He turned to Ace and opened his mouth to ask what happened but closed it when he saw the sleeping form of his brother.

 _'I better let him sleep, I'll ask later.'_ He noticed the bags underneath Ace's eyes from the last few days had become more apparent.

 _'Ace's not getting any sleep, he's worrying too much.'_ He slowly gets up from the bed and trudges to the bathroom to clean himself up. He takes one look in the mirror and touches his head in confusion.

 _'Bandages? What the hell?'_ He removed them to find dried blood crusting in his hair and on his scalp. Upon further inspection he discovered a large purple and yellow bruise on the right side of his head.

 _'Ace has got a lot of explaining to do.'_ Minding his bruise, he grabbed a cloth and wet it before gently rubbing the dried blood from his head. He flinched at the contact, but toughed it out until he got the job done. When he finished, he admired his head in the mirror.

 _'Perfect! Dadan won't suspect a thing!'_ Luffy heads out of the bathroom and sees her making breakfast. Noticing his is already on the table, he quickly scarfs it down noting he hadn't eaten in awhile. Dadan looks at him from the oven and rolls her eyes.

"Slow down ya brat. Your gonna choke." she said, annoyed. But she knew her protest landed to deaf ears, the brothers always ate this way.

"You and Ace went to bed early last night. Any reason why?" She asked suspiciously. Luffy's eyes barely flickered over to her before pausing to answer her.

"Uh, nope. Just felt a little tired." He returned to his feast and silently hoped she would stop asking questions. She grunts in frustration and flips the oven switch off.

"Fine, I'll leave you two to your privacy. But, I hope you're not up to anything too bad. You both have been acting too off from your normal selves." Luffy stares at her guiltily as he slowly chews his meal.

"Tell Ace his breakfast is on the oven when he wakes up." She walks out of the room then out of the house to work.

 _'Me and Ace have been out so often, we hardly see her around anymore.'_ Luffy thought with a pang of sadness. Even though she is usually grumpy and angry, he still loves her like a member of the family.

Heaving a big sigh Luffy finishes his meal then leans back in his chair, deep in thought.

 _'Seems like everyday has the same routine. Wake up, lie to Dadan, she leaves, go out, lie to friends, something bad happens then come home. It feels like I'm stuck in an infinite time loop, I just want everything to go back to normal!'_ He slams his fist on the table loudly, gritting his teeth in frustration.

 _'And Sabo, god it's too hard to even think about him sometimes. No matter where he is, he's somewhere and hurting. Me and Ace aren't even exploring the idea that he could be...dead.'_ He grabbed at his head, annoyed at the ache that seemed to grow whenever he thought too much.

"You alright Luffy?"

Luffy jumps in surprise at his brothers concerned voice.

"Managing. What happened yesterday?" Ace took a deep breath and recounted all the events that conspired. These included the figure that knocked Luffy out, Ace's brief chase and Bellamy's disappearance.

"He left before I could get any information out of him. I'm going to have to ask him at school where he was going to take that package. Man, I hope he doesn't spread it around that we jumped him. That'll raise questions we don't need for sure." Ace walked to the oven and ate his breakfast slowly.

They both remained where they were in silence with the exception of Ace's loud chewing. After awhile Ace slams his plate on the counter and turns to his brother with eyes full of guilt.

"Luffy, I'm sorry for letting you get hurt! I promised you that I wouldn't let anything hurt you but I messed up!" Luffy looked at Ace with shock written all over his face.

"Ace! Don't blame yourself for what that psychopath did! I was bound to get hurt with him lurking around everywhere." Ace looked down in shame.

 _'He expected to get hurt! He doesn't think I can protect him!'_ Noticing Ace's foul mood, Luffy changed the subject.

"So what are we going to do about the whole money situation? We can't exactly explain to Dadan how the apartment fund suddenly disappeared." Ace leaned against the counter and looked at the ceiling.

"We're just going to have to keep the jar away from her. We can't bring it up either. As for the apartment, we're going to have to start over and look for a cheaper one than what we originally wanted." he said partially talking to himself.

Luffy kept quiet, but was silently disappointed. There goes his hope of living in a nice neighborhood. Ace sets his gaze back on Luffy and sits on the chair across from him.

"Since what happened, I don't think we should go out alone anymore. No more going out without any friends or me around, got it?" Luffy nods his head in agreement then looks at his plate, tracing circles on it absent-mindedly.

"We should be on extra alert, we didn't listen to him when he said stop looking for Sabo." said Ace seriously. Luffy didn't look up; he just kept tracing his plate over and over again. Ace stared at his brother.

'Its like I'm looking at a complete stranger. He's so depressed that all his energy is gone.' Ace walked over and punched Luffy on the head (softly because of his injury). Luffy immediately clutched his head in pain and gave Ace a glare.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Stop being so down! You're already giving up! What happened to all your hope and determination huh? Don't give up on Sabo so easily! He needs us to help him and we can't let ourselves be discouraged so easily! If they come back for us, so be it! We'll turn it around and use it in our favor to find Sabo! But I can't do any of it alone, so brother, are you going to help me or get dragged in the dust?" Luffy stared at Ace with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

 _'He-he's right! He got it spot on! Gah, what am I doing? I can't be so sad all the time, I've got to find the positive outlook on things.'_ Luffy stood up with a smirk on his face and held his fist out.

"Of course I'll fight with you brother." Ace smiled in response and they bumped knuckles. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door that made the brothers jump. They stayed silent and exchanged looks before the knocking started again, but louder and more persistent. They slowly approach the door and tense before opening it.

 **Omake:**

Ace is sitting on the ground flipping through camera footage in a mechanical pattern.

'Why do they keep all this stuff anyway? There's nothing interesting that goes on at this damn school!' He continued to flip through when he saw two people that caught his attention.

He switched the speed to normal and looked suspiciously at the two professors that were huddled close to each other. He turned up the volume and squinted his eyes to see what they were doing.

"C'mon Benn, lighten up! You need to take it easy sometimes!" said the first professor, pouring something from a flask into 'Benns' coffee cup.

"Yasopp, it's completely inappropriate to drink on school property." said Benn with a scowl on his face. Yasopp swayed a little and hiccupped as he put an arm around Benn's shoulder.

"Your just a lightweight whose scaaaaared! Hahaha!" Yasopp teased, taking a gulp of the flask.

"Please! I'm no lightweight! And I'm not scared! Watch this!" He proceeded to chug the contents of the mug while Yasopp stood at the side chanting; "Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Ace pursed his lips together and narrowed his eyes.

'What the fuck kind of school is this?!'

 ** _Son of Whitebeard_ : It is quite the school**

 ** _Lostdog200 (Guest):_ I know how you feel but its gonna take a little bit! Hang in there!**

 ** _Guest:_ Thank you so much! It means a lot to hear that and it would be great if lots of people read this**

 ** _Ellie(Guest)_ : I have no intention to stop this fic, I'm following through til the end! Hahaha! Thank you for complementing the way I constructed the story its really awesome of you!**

 ** _Guest:_ Thanks for reviewing! Sabo having a new rep was something I added at the last minute but I want it to continue on lol.**

 ** _Ecarlates_ : Yes! I have plans for Yasopp in the future that will affect the story, and the way they save their brother remains a mystery… tee hee. Thank you for reviewing, im so glad you love it!**

 _Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved and followed! No words could describe how ecstatic I was!_

 _Next time; Angry Koalas and Garps._

 _Until next week~_


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 9**

 _Just started school last week, wanted to ball my eyes out. School sucks._

 _I'm going to upload on **Sundays** now because it gives me more time than on a school day._

 **DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE!**

The brothers tensed as they approached the door, the loud bangs making them almost deaf. Luffy slowly reaches for the handle and yanks it open. The brothers eyes widen in disbelief, this was the last person they were expecting.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?!" Standing in front of them is a petit girl with short strawberry blonde hair. She had a very pissed off expression with her arms crossed and a vein popping from her head. She was a monster, a beast, and Sabo's girlfriend!

"Koala! What are you doing here?" Ace asked in surprise. She stepped forward so her nose was almost touching Ace's.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?! Sabo hasn't called me back for almost a week! Where is he?! I need to talk to him!" Ace takes a step back and semi hides behind Luffy to escape her wrath.

"He isn't here right now." Luffy responds. She turns her angry gaze to him and points behind her.

"Then why's his car here? SABO! YOU CANT HIDE FROM ME WHERE ARE YOU?!" Ace shrinks back and Luffy steps in front of her.

"Sabo is out of town right now, he isn't here Koala." She examines Luffy's straight expression in suspicion then her demeanor totally changes.

"Why didn't he tell me? It would have been nice to get a heads up." she said sadly gazing at her phone. Luffy and Ace exchange a guilty glance before Ace throws an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sure he feels sorry, but he left in a rush and forgot his phone here. Don't be too upset, he wouldn't do anything to hurt your feelings." Koala heaves a big sigh.

"Well as soon as he gets home, tell him to call me as soon as he can."

"Sure thing!" Luffy responds with a smile. After good byes were said she made her way to her car and drove out of sight. The brothers watched her leave before closing the door.

"You know, it's only a matter of time before everyone becomes suspicious." Luffy points out. Ace ruffles Luffy's hair.

"That's right, so that means we need to go through the rest of that video footage today. Since school starts back up in two days, we have to wait that long to get answers out of Bellamy."

"I can't believe I'm actually wanting school to start again."

"Our world has been flipped upside down." The brothers then went through the footage with a groan. They both took turns pressing the skip button while the other got food together to keep them occupied. Though Luffy was usually the one looking because of Ace's constant narcoleptic fits.

Throughout the day the brothers phones would buzz from their friends texts, but they ignored them.

After some time had passed Luffy jumped up with an excited yell. This caused Ace to fall off the couch he was napping on. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around in a daze.

"Wha-what's going on?" He stands up and Luffy points to the television screen while jumping up and down.

"Ace look! I finally found it! This is the time where Sabo went missing!" Ace looked at his brother shocked, then stood beside him as they watched the screen intently for any action. The brothers watched for a few minutes but when nothing was happening, Ace fast forward. Finally the CD cut out, and the footage was over. Ace furrowed his brows in confusion as he went back, thinking he had missed it.

'What, it doesn't even show Sabo's car at all. Where is it?' He frustratedly went through the footage over and over again but couldn't find anything.

"What the hell?! Where is it?!" He yells slamming the remote on the ground. Luffy just sits quietly beside him, staring intently on the screen. Ace looks at him in confusion then snaps his fingers in front of Luffy's face.

"Oi! Luffy! Do you see something?" Luffy blinks a few times before his eyes are shaded from his hat.

"Ace. Did you look at the date of the footage?"

"No why?"

"Well I think you should." Ace gives Luffy an odd look then reads the information at the bottom right of the screen.

"11:16 am, parking lot camera C, Wednesday, March 12th..." Ace trailed off then slapped himself in the face.

"This is footage from a week ago! I grabbed the wrong box from Wednesday! Damn it!" Luffy took the CD out of the player and put it back in the box. He then shoved the box in Ace's arms and flopped down on the couch.

"Looks like we only have Bellamy as a lead right now. Just leave the box under your bed for now." Luffy snuggles himself deeper in the couch and closed his eyes. Ace sighs angrily then shoved the box under his bed. Then he walked to the living room and plopped on the couch next to Luffy. He found his eyes closing from exhaustion until he finally fell asleep.

Late that night, Dadan walks into the house and notices the brothers on the couch.

"What are they doing so late?" She walks into their rooms and strips the bed of blankets then places them on the brothers. Luffy immediately pulled the comforter over him while Ace snuggled deeper into the covers.

Dadan smiled at the cute sight before stumbling upstairs to get some rest.

* * *

"Are we really going to this?"

"Why not? They deserve it for ignoring us!"

"But they look so comfortable, it kinda looks cute..."

"No! We're doing this! Go get it!" Ace internally groans at the noise all around him and squints his eyes open. He turns his body to face whoever was talking.

 _'What? Who are these people?'_ He thought with a head still hazy from sleep. His eyes were finally adjusting when he felt freezing water soak his skin.

"AHHHHH!" Ace flips off the couch and smacks his head off the coffee table while Luffy abruptly gets up and falls down again.

 _'My head ow!'_ He laid on the ground holding his head while letting out a pained moan.

"Oops, didn't think that would happen." Ace sat up and glared at the intruders. His eyes widened in surprise when he recognized Marco and Thatch as well as some of Luffy's friends. Marco was holding a large bucket of water and Thatch had his arms crossed with a pissed expression.

"What the hell do you guys think your doing?!" Ace screams at them. Luffy jumps up beside him in anger.

"Nami, Zoro, Sanji, ViVi what are you doing here?! And what was that for?" Luffy yells with steam coming from his ears.

"Ace, why didn't you respond to our calls and texts yesterday?!" Thatch demanded.

"Yeah! That goes for you too Luffy! What were you guys doing?" Nami asked.

The brothers glance at each other before Luffy gestures to Ace to explain with a smirk.

 _'You sneaky betraying bastard!'_ Ace turns back to the angry mob with a nervous expression.

"Well you see, me and Luffy trashed the house by accident yesterday so Dadan took our phones away and grounded us." He said rubbing a finger under his nose with a satisfied expression.

"Dadan?" Sanji asked.

"Our caretaker." Luffy piped up.

"Caretaker? Where are your parents?" Zoro asked. The brothers looked at each other then shrugged.

"Our mom died when we were small, and our dad is somewhere working. Never really knew the guy though." Ace responded. The group looked guiltily at each other.

"Sorry about that." said Zoro, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, it's not your fault he's gone. We're just fine by ourselves." said Luffy proudly, puffing his chest and hitting it with a fist.

"Oh yeah, how did you guys know where we live? I understand Thatch and Marco, but what about you?" Ace nods to Luffy's friends. "And how did you get _in_ here? The door was locked."

"I'm friends with Zoro so I called him up to come and see you guys." said Marco. "And I saw you pull the key from under the mat last time, so we used it."

 _'Maybe we made it a little too easy for Sabo's kidnapper to come in the house...'_ Ace thought in shame.

On the outside, Vivi and Nami are keeping a cool demeanor. But on the inside, they're freaking out that they were in Ace's house. Suddenly the girls' fangirling was disrupted when the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it!" Luffy jogs from the living room and opens the door to find a deliveryman.

"Hello!" Luffy greets with a grin, but the man just pushes a package into his arms. Luffy stumbles a bit at the force and looks at the package in confusion. He lifts his head to ask where the package was from only to discover the deliveryman was already speeding away.

Luffy frowns and closes the door silently; he then turns his attention to the medium sized box in his hands. He quietly opens it and finds a bunch of green tissue paper. He sticks his hand it and shuffles it around until he feels a piece of cardboard. He shifts the paper to look at it and sees the kidnappers symbol.

Luffy quickly closes it and hides it away in the coat closet behind him, not wanting anyone to catch him with it.

"What was that?" Luffy jumped at Zoro's deep voice beside him.

"Um, it was a package for Sabo. Just putting it away until he gets back." Luffy responds nervously.

"Right, Sabo is away on a trip or something. Listen, are you feeling okay? Your acting kind of jumpy today." said Zoro looking directly into Luffy's eyes.

"Yeah! Just after you guys drenched us I guess I'm just a bit paranoid. But I'm okay, really!" Luffy says with his big grin.

"Okay then, if you say so." Zoro walks back to the living room and looks back in anger. He didn't believe a word Luffy said.

When Zoro left Luffy alone, Luffy let out a huge breath and takes a longing look where the package was before following Zoro back to the living room.

As soon as he steps foot into the kitchen, Nami is dragging him to his room. He looks over to Ace and sees that Thatch is dragging him towards their room as well. Luffy tries to tug his arm free of Nami's grip but fails.

"Nami! What are you doing?" he complains. Nami swings him forward and pushes him into their room at the same time Thatch pushes Ace.

"You both have to change clothes! We're going out!" Then Nami slams the door shut and the brothers look at the door, bewildered. Knowing they weren't going to be let out until they changed, the brothers complied.

"So who was at the door?" Ace asked while taking off his soaked clothes and slipping a red t-shirt over his head. Luffy glanced reluctantly at the door, not wanting to risk being over heard.

"Someone came to deliver a package to Sabo." Luffy gives Ace a long look. Understanding what Luffy means, he silently accepts it and finishes dressing.

"So Ace, are you guys going to get an apartment soon? I remember you said you wanted to get one for you and your brothers." said Marco when Nami let the appropriately dressed boys out of their room.

"Yeah, but we're waiting for Sabo to get back before we decide on one. We all need our input on this." Ace replied.

"Do you guys have enough money for that sort of thing? I mean your only in high school." Sanji points out.

"We've been saving money since we were kids to buy our own apartment. We never really liked living here, so we decided to save up on our own." said Ace.

"How much do you have saved?" asked Vivi. Luffy bit the inside of his cheek.

"Five thousand dollars." he said quietly. Everyone's jaws dropped comically and their eyes bulged out of their head.

"Holy crap! You're loaded! Where the hell did you get the money from?!" Thatch asks in disbelief.

"You know, just here and there..." Ace mumbles. Marco raised an eyebrow when he noticed Ace's subtle behavior. Suddenly they all hear a cough and turn to Nami who had been patiently waiting till the commotion went down.

"Anyway, the main reason we are here is to take you two-" she points to Luffy and Ace,"-outside for a nice game of soccer."

"Uh soccer? Not that I don't appreciate you guys coming or anything, but why are you doing this?" Ace asks. Thatch comes up behind him and smacks him on the back, knocking the breath out of Ace.

"Because, my dear friend, you and your brother here have been a little glum lately about Sabo being gone. I know you love him and stuff but that doesn't mean you have to be down about it. I mean, he's having fun, so why can't you?" Ace and Luffy stared at the group in shock.

 _'I wish that was the case.'_ They both thought simultaneously. Ace opens his mouth, about to object when Luffy grabs his arm.

"C'mon Ace! Their right! We need to take a break from all of this, please?" asked with eyes full of desperation. Ace grit his teeth and thought about all the crap they've been through. Ace closes his eyes and let's out a big sigh.

"I guess that's what we need. Okay then, let's go!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

Ever since they arrived at the park, everyone was having a blast. Luffy was ecstatic when he found out that Sanji and Thatch threw together a picnic feast they were going to have later. The rest of Luffy's crew came along and created a large gathering.

They played soccer for several hours with endless energy before deciding it was time to eat. Luffy gives a cheer of appreciation and runs to the picnic blanket they set up under the tree. When the rest of the group eventually sat down, they set out the feast, which included sandwiches, pastas, salads, chicken wings and e.c.t.

"Oi! Luffy! Get your hands off my plate!" Zoro yells for the millionth time.

"Sorry," he said non-apologetically.

"I thought he just did that at home." Ace exclaims in mild surprise. "How much does he do it?" Usopp finishes chewing his sandwich before responding.

"A little too often for our liking." The whole crew gives Luffy an annoyed look that Luffy happily ignores because he is too busy eating.

"So this is where you brats were!"

Ace automatically pales and Luffy chokes on his sandwich.

"Is that-"

"Gramps?" Luffy finishes. They slowly turn around with wide eyes and let out screams of terror when they try to run away. However, Garp was much quicker as he reaches and grabs the brothers by the neck of their shirts. They both let out a choking sound as they are dragged away. Garp turns around to their friends with a smile.

"I'm just borrowing them for a moment." He resumes his walk away to his car. The group looks at each other in confusion.

"Gramps?"

* * *

As Ace and Luffy were being dragged away, they sent pleading looks to the group that was quickly fading from view. They were met with confused stares then they looked away and whistled innocently.

Eventually Garp pulled them up next two his car and plopped them in front of him.

"Where have you brats been? I called you plenty times but you and Dadan ignored me! And where's Sabo?" He yells.

 _'We ignore you because you're crazy.'_ They both thought.

"Sabo's out of town right now and the phone broke so we didn't get any calls." Ace lied. Garp punches them both in the head and they fall over in pain. Luffy hissed when the bruise on his head is aggravated. They immediately spring back up and are about to protest, but Garp cuts them off.

"Why didn't you brats tell me he was gone?! I have an important message for all of you!" Ace and Luffy straighten themselves with their eyes full of curiosity.

 _'A message? Please don't tell me the kidnapper is talking to gramps!'_ Ace thought in anxiety. Pleased that he has his grandson's attention, he clears his throat.

"Well, it turns out that your father finally wants to spend time with you brats in the city he works in!"

"What city is that?" asked Luffy.

"West Blue city." The brothers glance at each other, knowing full well they couldn't leave the city and Sabo behind.

"Sorry Gramps, we don't want to meet the guy. He's been gone all of lives and suddenly turns up now? No thank you. Besides, we promised Sabo that we'd wait until he gets back." Ace said firmly.

"You should go, Dragon really wants you to meet his best friend and business partner Roger and show you the kind of work they do." Luffy shakes his head.

"No can do Gramps. I don't want to go see him at some boring office job. I'd rather stay here with my friends. Besides, we can't miss school."

"Well, it's not up to me if you want to go." Garp sighs. "But their work is not just some office job. Their scientists who are developing- wait I shouldn't tell you that here." Garp digs in his pocket and pulls out two business cards.

"If you change your mind brats, give them a call. Dragon may be irresponsible, but he's still my son. And I don't want to see him mess up the chance he has with his children." Garp gives them one more annoyed punch for good measure then gets in his car.

"Don't ignore me again! Tell Dadan if she doesn't pick up the phone I'm coming over there and giving her a fist of love!" Garp gives a booming laugh then speeds away, leaving his grandsons in the dust.

"Well that was annoying." Ace complains. The brothers walk back towards their friends and Luffy examines the business card. His breath hitches when he looks at the logo. Luffy holds the card out for Ace to see.

"Does this look familiar to you?" Ace looks down and his expression slowly turns to shock.

"But that's, that's the kidnapper symbol!" Ace says in disbelief. "Well, close to it anyway." The logo on the business card had two D's stamped in the middle of a blue square.

"Even thought the arrow and the circle are different, the D's look exactly the same!" Luffy exclaims.

"Does our dad have something to do with this?" They both exchange looks of worry.

"What kind of father would do this to his own sons? I think it's a coincidence. He can't be! Even though he hardly knows us, he couldn't! Cause we're family..." Luffy trails off and grips the card with shaking hands. Ace puts a hand on Luffy's arm to calm him.

"I know how you feel but we can't ignore this big coincidence. It may not be our father, but someone related to the company."

"But why would they care about us? We have nothing to do with it."

"I have no idea Lu." Ace ruffles his hair and jogs ahead to their friends. Luffy cringes in pain and runs after him.

 _'Stupid Gramps! He hit me straight on my bruise!'_ He walks up to the group while rubbing his head.

"Everyone ready for round two?" Ace asks. Then the group walks away to the field and Luffy is still holding his head, a headache growing.

"Are you okay Luffy?" Said teen turns around to a worried looking Vivi.

"Yeah I'm alright, I'm just a little more sensitive when Gramps gives us his 'fist of love'." Luffy says with a chuckle. Vivi gives him one last incredulous look, then beckons him to the field.

"Come on! Our teams losing and I don't want to keep it that way!"

* * *

He hated this room. This was the room that he spent everyday dreading no matter how hard he tried to forget.

Sabo looked around the blank white walls around him in distaste, and then paused to glare at the black glass in front of him. He couldn't see them, but he knew they could see him.

He hated the men in white suits. All they did was cause him pain. The only time he actually didn't mind them was when they brought him back to the cell after the horrible day he had.

Then again, that just made him worry about when they would enter and take him away again.

Never mind, he hated them all the time.

But the one he hates most of all is 'that' man. That damn bastard who just comes around to tell him how he's taunting his brothers. He absolutely, undoubtedly hates that man.

Speaking of him, he just walked into the room. Sabo had to stop himself from spitting on his face, oh wait, he's probably going to get punched anyway, so he spits directly between the man's eyes.

To Sabo's surprise, he casually wipes it away and gives an evil grin. Sabo held his breath in anticipation.

 _'I swear to god if he hurt Ace or Luffy screw these chains, ill murder him.'_

"You've had a hard day today by the looks of you." he points out. And he was right, Sabo was exhausted from what he went through today. It was worse today than most others. Sabo's eyes widen as the man slips a knife from his coat pocket.

"Don't worry yourself, your day is almost over. Just carry on for a little bit longer." And quicker than lightning he plunges the knife into Sabo's shoulder.

 **Omake:**

Koala gets in the car and leaves the D household.

Koala: ...

Pulls up to a red light and rolls the window up.

Proceeds to throw a fit about Sabo causing people in other cars to wonder about her mental health.

 **Son of Whitebeard:** Raggggging

 **Wildnaturexx:** Well here you go! I hope Garp's craziness satisfies you

Until Sunday~

 _Didn't feel like omake lalalala_

 _What to expect next time: Living in butchery._


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 10**

 **I'm sorry for this small chapter, I noticed I've been writing quite a few small ones but ill try and make them longer.**

 **Oh, and I've divided up the plot plan so there will be about 25 chapters in the story.**

 **Without further adeu, here is the next chapter.**

 **DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

"You so cheated! You wouldn't have beat me if you played fair." Sanji complained. Zoro snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Your just a sore loser. I'm just better than you and you can't handle it." said Zoro smugly.

"You wish that was true you cheater."

"It is true sore-loser." This point pressed their foreheads together in a glaring contest.

"Guys, guys calm down it was just a soccer game. Why do you have to make a competition out of everything?" asked Usopp. They both turned to glare at Usopp with evil auras radiating off of them.

"Stay out of this!" They yell at the same time, but they stop bickering. The rest of the group giggled at their antics. They were all walking to Ace and Luffy's house from the park since they finished their game.

"Hey guys, we're sorry we didn't do anything when your grandpa came and got you-yoi." Marco apologizes to the brothers.

"Yeah. It's just that he's a little, um, what's the word?" Brook wonders scratching his large Afro.

"Insane."

"Violent." Ace and Luffy offer.

"That's the word! He's also a little intimidating. By the way, how did he manage to find you both?" Luffy shrugs.

"Who knows? He always has a way of finding us. Like some sort of tracker in his brain that always locates us."

"Like I said, insane." Ace mutters. The crew finally makes it to the house and they all step inside to the kitchen/living room. Just as the last person goes into the kitchen, Ace remains in the hallway and sneakily takes the box out of the coat closet. What Luffy and he had talked about was still fresh on his mind.

 _'At the park, around an hour ago.'_

 _"Ace, we've got to see what's in that package as soon as possible." Luffy said once he and his brother were alone. "This could be something that involves another time limit like the last one and we don't want to leave it alone for too long. And I don't think our friends will be at our house for a short time either." Ace blinks in surprise. Luffy sounded so...smart. He guessed it was from what had happened to them that was forcing him to mature, and he didn't like it at all._

 _"Okay then, when we go to our house, stay in the living room with everyone to keep them distracted. In the mean time I'll take the box and open it upstairs. Where did you hide it?"_

 _"In the coat closet next to the door. Sounds good, let's get going."_

 _End of flashback'_

Ace crept through the hallway and quietly ran up the stairs.

 _'I kind of feel like a secret agent.'_ Feeling playful, he jogged the rest of the stairs and flattened himself against the wall. Then he looked both ways and tip toed his way to the guest room.

Ace mentally slapped himself for being such a kid and closed the door behind him as he plopped on the quilted bed. Ace carefully opened the box and the first thing that greeted him was the symbol.

 _'Damn they do look alike,'_ He thought, thinking about the business card. Ace holds his breath as he removes the tissue paper that filled the box. When the box is empty and paper is scattered throughout the bed, Ace finds a key lying on the bottom on top of a note.

Confused, Ace takes the key and turns it around in his hand to get the feel of it. Then he turns his attention to the note and reads it.

 _ **'I kind of feel bad you don't have any money for an apartment, so here's one for you. You'll find your punishment in there.'**_

Ace grits his teeth in anger and grips the key in his hand. Who does this guy think he is? He can't play them around and tell them what they can and can't do! Suddenly Ace jumps when there's a knocking on the door. Ace hastily crumples the note as Marco walks into the room.

"What are you doing up here Ace? And what's that?" Marco nods to the key in Ace's hand.

 _'Crap I forgot to hide it!'_

"It's the key to an apartment that Sabo bought."

"Didn't you say that you guys didn't find one yet?" says Marco with an incredulous look.

"No, we didn't. This is, uh just the key to an apartment that Sabo said we should look at. We haven't bought anything yet." said Ace nervously. Marco's face immediately brightens with an excited look.

"That's pretty cool-yoi! Let's all check it out right now!" Marco starts to walk out of the room.

"I think we should check it out when Sabo comes back. It doesn't seem fair..." Ace protests weakly. There was something bad in that apartment and he couldn't let anyone see or all hell would break loose.

"Nonsense! You don't even know when Sabo's coming back so whatever he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? Hey Thatch!" Marco shouts down the stairs. "Let's go with Ace to his-"

"NO! WE ARENT GOING!" Marco turns to him in complete shock at the outburst. Ace himself was shocked, but he couldn't let anyone go at any cost. He made himself calm down before speaking again.

"I want to wait until Sabo gets back, and that's final. It's his money too and I need him here too." Marco just stares at him for what seemed like forever before mumbling an: "okay." Marco exits the room and Ace follows slowly. When they return to the havoc of the kitchen Marco walks up to Thatch.

"I think it's time for us to go and leave them alone now-yoi." Thatch gets up and gives a large stretch.

"Okay then, but why so sudden?" Thatch asks, giving Ace a side-glance.

"Ace just got a key to a potential new apartment." said Marco calmly. Luffy immediately gives Ace a questioning look but Ace just looks down at the ground. The whole group breaks out into murmurs of excitement, wanting to go see it.

"Sorry guys we can't see it yet, the brothers won't look at it until Sabo comes back." Marco interjects. They all mutter in protest but gradually accepting their decision.

The whole group files out of the house one by one and Ace and Luffy gave their thanks. When Marco was walking out, Ace flashed him a grateful glance then shut the door behind them.

"Okay Ace what the heck was that?" Luffy asks, turning to Ace. Ace holds up a finger in a silent 'wait' before running upstairs then returning with the box in hand.

He opens it and removes the key and note. Ace then hands the key to Luffy and un crumples the letter.

"Is this the key to the apartment that Marco mentioned?" Luffy asks. Ace nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, Sabo's kidnapper bought it for us but the note said there's a punishment waiting for is in there."

"Punishment? For what?"

"For looking for Sabo. Even though he made it clear that there would be consequences if we did, we messed up and got caught." Ace explained. Luffy cringed and instinctively rubbed his bruise. Ace took the key from Luffy and examined it.

"So what should we do? There's definitely something bad in there but if we don't go he'll do something else to get even." Ace debates. Luffy furrows his brows at the letter and bites his cheek.

"We have to go. We have only one lead as to where Sabo is and this might give us a clue."

"But Luffy, there could be Sabo's...you know...his bod-"

"No! He has no reason to kill Sabo and he wouldn't have any more leverage against us either. Sabo is not in there. Impossible." Luffy shakes his head to clear the growing agitation.

"I wasn't saying that it must be that. It was only a possibility. But your right, we need more clues. Let's go." Luffy nods gratefully and they slip on their shoes and jackets as they exit the house to the cool night.

As they walked down the street, Ace held a ripped piece of the box in his hand with the address the package was sent from. Since the letter hadn't mentioned an address, they figured that was the apartment. After only 10 minutes of walking, they finally reached the complex.

It appeared to be a five-story brick building with plenty of broken windows and weeds surrounding the entrance. Despite it's abandoned appearance, there was a small light shining through the doorway.

The brothers unhesitantly walked inside to the drab lobby. There was a few moth eaten chairs and scratched tables. Up front was a large desk with a snooty looking man standing behind it reading a book.

As they approached the man, he looked up and surprise flickered in his eyes. But it was quickly masked to the snarky look before.

"Can I help you sirs?" Ace dug in his pocket and took out the key.

"Can you tell us which room this belongs to?" The man gave Ace an annoyed look before pulling out a large journal from his desk. He spent a few moments flipping through blank pages before settling on one.

"Are you Sabo?" He asks. Both brothers tense before Ace answers.

"That's right." Impatience crosses the man's face and he sighs angrily.

"Then why don't you remember your room number? I made it very clear over the phone. Your making my job much harder than it has to be. I am a very busy person you know."

 _'What a lazy ass! He can't even look in a book without complaining. And by the looks of this place, I don't think he's very busy.'_ Ace suppresses a groan of annoyance.

"We're very sorry sir, but we forgot to write it down and we are pretty forgetful. So please, could you tell us what room it is?" Luffy asks. The man glares at them for a few moments before closing the book.

"Room twenty seven. Third floor."

"Thank you sir, have a nice day." Luffy smiles a big smile. The man blushes a little and stutters.

"Y-yes well don't forget your room again!"

"Don't worry we won't!" Luffy grabs Ace before his brother could scowl and pulls him to the stairs.

"I really hate that guy."

"I know Ace." As they are climbing the large staircase, Luffy notices multiple brown stains on the walls and carpet.

"This place is disgusting. Why did he have to choose 'this' apartment complex?" Luffy complains.

"Well I don't see why he'd want to spend a lot of money on us in the first place." The brothers finally made it to the third floor and walked down the hallway checking the door numbers.

"24, 26, 27!" They stopped in front of a rust covered door. Ace pulled the key out and twisted it in the lock. When a small click was heard, Ace carefully pushed the door open to a pitch-black room.

"I'm not going in there in the dark, is there a light switch?" Luffy asked shying away from the room. Ace carefully put his hand in the room and felt along the wall. When his hand finally met a light switch, he flipped it on.

It was a barren room with rotted yellow walls that were once white. The floors were broken wood covered in mysterious stains that gave off a putrid odor. In the center of the ceiling was a simple light bulb barely producing enough light to fill the room.

But hanging from the ceiling next to that little bulb in the empty room, was a severed arm.

 **Omake:**

Marvis watched the two boys run up the stairs towards their room. He didn't like Sabo at all, nothing irked him more than forgetful teenagers.

However, the younger boy with Sabo caught his attention. He couldn't remember the last time someone had given him such a smile. It made a neglected feeling start to flutter in his stomach.

'Did he actually make me feel...happy?' He shook his head and took a monotone expression. Marvis picked up his book and continued to read, but there was no mistaking the small smile that grazed his lips.

'He's something special.' Then he thought of the man with him.

'He's got bad taste in boyfriends though.'

 **Again I apologize for the short chapter, I could already see areas where I could have expanded it.**

 **Thank you to all those who faved/followed the story! You're the best!**

 **JustHopeForHope: I'm sorry for leaving you with a cliffhanger. Unfourtunately, I love leaving them so here's another. :) Trolololol**

 **SEllen23: Thank you! I'm happy you liked the update!**

 _What to expect next time: Splitting brothers and impossible decisions._

 _See you in a week~_


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 11**

 **I honestly have one million awesome story ideas but I feel like it's impossible for me to formulate a plot and write those when I have weekly updates. When I'm finished this story I think I might make more irregular updates but with several stories.**

 **I praise people who can handle several stories at once. You are magicians.**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Their breathing hitched in their throats and they reeled back in silent shock. Luffy finally has the voice to scream and does so until Ace covers his mouth. They stay like this with wide eyes for a few minutes, trying to fathom what they were seeing. Eventually Luffy peels Ace's hand off his face and creeps in the room.

"Oi! What are you doing?" Luffy continues to the arm.

"I need to see if it's Sabo's." He says in an wavering voice.

"Then let me do it! Luffy, get back here!" Ace yells.

"It's too late now, just wait a second." Ace grits his teeth but stays put. He glances at the arm again and feels a wave of nausea. This guy didn't play games.

As Luffy walked towards the arm, he held his breath in puffed cheeks and only looked through squinted eyes. When he finally came up close, he slowly opened his eyes to the limb in front of him.

It was bare; there was a considerable amount of dried blood from the severing wound. The arm was tied with a thick rope, which it hung idly swinging side to side. He forced himself to look it over and found a scar on the palm. He felt tears poke his eyes because he knew it was Sabo's arm. He had gotten that scar when he burned his hand on the stove.

"It's his, it has the scar on his palm." He says quietly. Ace pushes his hands on his eyes and turns around muttering curses and prayers. Luffy also notices something else on the hand though. In between the ring and middle finger is a piece of folded paper.

Luffy gulps, and then carefully takes the paper out of the fingers. He lets out a squeal when he almost touches it and abruptly jumps back. Luffy feels a little disgusted afterward, that was the hand he held countless times as a kid whenever he was walking home. That was the hand that punched his head as he was scolded for doing something stupid. That was his _brothers_ arm.

"What are you doing?!" Ace demands, running beside his brother. Luffy opens the piece of paper and shows Ace.

"It's a note." He says with dread in his voice. They both silently read the message without moving an inch.

 _ **'Next time I won't be so easy on you, your lucky to just have a limb.'**_

Upon reading and dropping the note, the two hurriedly leave the room as it was and slammed the door shut. They immediately run down the staircase and out the entrance, barely hearing the man at the desk give a questioning shout.

The brothers continued to run home with only the streetlights illuminating their dark forms. When they finally reached their house, Ace quickly shut the door and locked it. He then proceeded to throw the apartment key on the counter and stand there in a rage.

Luffy leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling in silence. They were both beyond frustration. They failed Sabo. He got his damn arm cut off and is definitely suffering.

That night the brothers simply sat in silence, reflecting on what had happened. At one point Ace realized that the whole weekend he had neglected doing his homework. Knowing how much Mr. Marshall would be angry at him for not finishing, Ace trudged to his room to start up on his work.

As Ace tried to focus, he found it absolutely impossible because every two seconds his thoughts would drift to Sabo. Ace grit his teeth in frustrated anger and forced himself to write only to stop when he noticed he had broken his pencil.

He scowled and leaned back in his chair, hands on his eyes. Ace remains this way for awhile, in the dark depths of his room. He just wished It would swallow him up and take him away from all this. He was startled when his phone went off from an incoming text message.

"What is it now?!" He yelled to no one in particular. He yanked the phone out of his pocket and was about to throw it at the wall. Ace stopped his actions as he stared at the message in horror. He re-reads it several times to make sure he didn't misunderstand, but it was as clear as glass.

 _ **'Kill Luffy or Sabo dies.'**_

* * *

Luffy was lying on the couch in the living room, biting his thumb nervously. It was a habit he picked up on in the last week. It was quite soothing when he had times of stress. Luffy had heard Ace yell in frustration from the other room. He began to worry over Ace he was definitely stressed.

Luffy groaned and rolled on his stomach with a hand lying off the couch. He lifted his arm and began to examine it.

 _'I can't imagine a life without my arm. How on earth can Sabo be dealing with this right now?'_ Luffy let his arm drop down again.

 _'Even if we manage to rescue him, he won't be the same.'_ Luffy closed his eyes and drifted off.

A few hours later, Luffy awoke to the sound of footsteps in the kitchen.

 _'Ace?'_ Luffy opened his eyes slightly and looked above him. Ace was just standing there staring at him. Luffy closed his eyes again and spoke drowsily.

"What are you doing here Ace? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He heard no response then heard a quiet mumble.

"Hm?" Luffy asked incoherently.

"Couldn't sleep. You should come to bed." Ace said, speaking up.

"N'thanks Ace I'm good..." Slurred Luffy. Ace watched his brothers' breathing gradually slow then just stood there watching the boy sleep. Ace remained there for a while with a blank look on his face. He eventually broke his gaze from Luffy's sleeping form and walked back to their room.

At around three am, Luffy was jostled from his sleep when his phone buzzed on his stomach where he was lying on it. He unconsciously took it out and read the text.

 ** _'Kill Ace or Sabo dies.'_**

Suddenly fully awake, Luffy sat up and read the text over and over again.

 _'Kill...Ace?'_ He suddenly couldn't breathe and he began to hyperventilate. He started to chew on his nail to calm himself. That man just proved that he could use a knife with no hesitation; he would kill his brother if Luffy didn't kill Ace.

Luffy bit his thumb even harder, ignoring the blood pouring from the wound.

* * *

The next morning, Luffy awoke with a groan. He rolled on his stomach and looked at the clock on the wall.

 _'Ive got an hour. Man I wish school wouldn't start up again.'_ He lazily rolled off the couch and onto the floor. After resting there for a few moments, he pushed himself off the floor and saw a note resting on the table.

Luffy stumbled to the table and read the note. Dadan had left the breakfast on the stove and left for work. She also left a little P.S that told them to stop being so mopey. Luffy snorted and tossed the note away. He then grabbed the waffles and munched on them slowly.

Luffy heard the door creak behind him as Ace stepped in the room looking like hell. Now that Luffy thought about it, he probably looked the same from lack of sleep. He decided to keep quiet about the text he got last night and silently munched on.

 _'No way am I involving Ace in_ that _difficult decision. Wait. What decision is there to make? I can't kill Ace! How can I even think about doing that?! To my own brother?!'_ Ace, oblivious to Luffy's inner turmoil, grabbed his breakfast and took it to their room to eat by himself. Luffy frowned at Ace's ignorant behavior.

 _'Geez, talk about supportive. Well, we both had a horrible day yesterday so I guess he'd want to have sometime to himself. But, still...'_ Luffy glumly finished eating and walked to their bedroom to get dressed. As soon as he reached for the doorknob, Ace suddenly yanked it open.

Luffy jumped back in surprise at the action. Wait. Why was he so nervous around Ace all of a sudden?

"Sorry Ace, didn't mean to disturb you..." Luffy apologized. Ace stood there and avoided Luffy's eyes.

"It's fine." He said curtly, and then he walked away to another room. Luffy felt even more enraged at Ace's tone and stomped into their room to get dressed.

A few minutes later, Ace was tapping his foot impatiently at the door. Why was Luffy taking so long? They had to get to school! A few seconds later, Luffy walked to the door taking his good sweet time and flashed Ace a look.

"Well let's go then." said Luffy almost annoyed. Ace temper flared at his behavior but exited the house nonetheless.

The whole walk to the school was entirely quiet. The brothers walked a slightly further distance from each other and looked in other directions. There was a bit of tension in the air between them and they didn't bother making conversation. As soon as they reached the school they parted ways without a goodbye to their respective friend groups.

In the following days everyone notices the differences in the brothers, more so than usual.

Instead of Ace and Luffy meeting in between classes and at lunch, they would avoid each other like the plague. When their friends suggested they hang out with the other brother, they would deny it and go eat somewhere else.

Even the class noticed how down the brothers were. Ace was even snappier to Hancock's group and was falling behind in practice drills for football. Luffy wouldn't even laugh at Shank's jokes or pranks at all. He was even glaring at Mr. Burgess more so than usual. However he was ignored which made Luffy even angrier. When their friends asked them about it they would just grunt in response, not meeting their eyes.

Everyone just chalked it up to the boys were having a fight and left it to sort it out itself. However their friends were a bit more concerned, Ace and Luffy were super tight. They couldn't just be having a nasty fight over nothing.

This mess lasts for two days, and then their whole world crumbles.

 **Omake:**

Marvis wasn't shocked when the boys ran out of the apartment complex. Although he was disappointed that the cute small one left, he still want shocked. People left screaming from here all the time.

 _'Its quite amusing to hear their screams. It's one of the few things that brings me joy.'_ He snickers a little then sighs, licking his finger to flip the page. Maybe it was about time he actually got money for this building.

 **THANKS TO THOSE WHO FAVED FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED YOU GUYS ARE MY FAVS!**

 ** _Phoenix:_ Daw I'm sorry, now you can have dreams of the brothers murdering each other. ( Im sorry I went sadist right there. Thanks for the compliment on the chapter!)**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Yes, I'm into creepy, so im glad you like it!**

 ** _I apologize once again for the incredibly short chapter, I kind of feel bad for it. HOWEVER! Next week is my fav chapter full of action and surprises. So I hope that makes up for it!_**

 ** _Well I'm going to take an all day hike, see ya later!_**

 _Next time: Fists start to fly and Ace figures it out._

 _Until next time~_


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 12**

 **This is a dramatic one guys. And I will tell you now this is the chapter where the shit goes down.**

 **My eye is twitching. this website crashed a literal 27 times in a row (I counted) before I could make a strategy to actually post! So here you go!**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Luffy woke up to the grey light shining through the window.

 _'Looks like a cloudy day today.'_ He begrudgingly turns around, looking for more sleep when his gaze rests on Ace. Luffy narrows his eyes at his sleeping brother and turns away from him. Ace had been really mean to him lately, and he didn't even apologize! Some brother he was, so if Ace was going to be that way, so was he.

Luffy glances at the clock beside him and his eyes almost pop out of his head.

"Shit! We're late!" He yells then jumps out of bed and slams his closet open, opting out of a shower today. Ace groans loudly at the sudden noise and glares at Luffy.

"What the hell are you making that racket for?" He snaps. Luffy doesn't answer him immediately as he is slipping his uniform shirt on.

"School starts in seven minutes!"

"What?! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" Ace jumps up and runs into the living room to pack his bag. The brothers ran and rushed around the house, scrambling to get ready.

"Move!"

"Scram!"

"Stop getting in my way!" Ace and Luffy kept running into each other, which only deepened their grumpy attitude. Once they pulled themselves together, they scrambled out the door.

 _'We're never going to make it in time!_ ' Ace thought, so he started for Sabo's car.

"What are you doing?"

Ace jumped and looked at Luffy, surprised. What startled Ace the most was that he realized that they haven't spoken directly to each other in a long time. At least not without snapping at each other.

Ace shakes his head to clear his jumbled thoughts. "We have to take the car. We're going to miss our first class if we walk." Luffy looked at Ace as if he grew two heads.

"But that's Sabo's car, he hates anyone touching it. It would be wrong to use it while he's gone." For some reason Ace felt really pissed and he couldn't describe why.

"I _know_ that. But even if he loves it it's no big deal cause it's just a car." he says through gritted teeth.

"No. I'm not taking advantage of Sabo like that. I refuse to get in." Luffy crosses his arms and stares at Ace defiantly.

"Fine then! Walk!" Ace yells. Then he gets in the car and speeds to school, leaving his brother in the dust.

* * *

Ace got into class as soon as the bell rang. He sighed in relief and plopped to his seat beside the window.

"Ace, you feeling okay-yoi?" Marco asks, turning around in his chair in front of Ace.

"Yeah, you're looking worse than any other day this week." Thatch adds, walking next to Marco. Ace stays silent and looks out the window. His friends worriedly look at each other then retreat to their seats. Coach Newgate stares at Ace with an unidentifiable expression before calling for the class's attention.

Throughout the three quarters of the class that went by, Ace still looked out the window trying to calm his flying thoughts.

 _'Should I have really left Luffy there? I mean, maybe I understand his feelings about using the car.'_ He suddenly regretted leaving Luffy behind. After what his brother had told him about what Mr. Burgess had done, it wasn't a good idea to leave him vulnerable for that again.

 _'I mean, I guess I was overreacting about being late. I don't want him to get hurt because of a stupid decision I made!'_ But Ace instantly took it all back when he saw Luffy walk through the front entrance of the school, sipping on a smoothie.

 _'Is that why he took so long?! To get a smoothie?! He's missing school he can't afford to loose!'_ Ace thinks, temper flaring.

When the bell rings, Ace immediately gets up and leaves to his next class. He didn't feel like socializing today in risk of snapping at someone.

He hurriedly walks through the hallway of student traffic and accidentally runs head on into someone, making them both drop their books. Ace takes a deep breath to calm his annoyance as they both bend down to pick up the scattered books.

"I'm sorry I ran into you, I was distrac-" Ace cuts himself off when he looks up and realizes that he had bumped into Luffy. He glares at his brother, which is returned, and they pick up their books in silence. Eventually Ace clears his throat and speaks to Luffy without looking up from his task.

"What took you so long to get here?" Luffy shrugs.

"It's not a big deal. I decided to take my time since I was going to be late anyway."

"You shouldn't treat school so lightly when you're close to failing. Plus, stopping to get a smoothie? What were you thinking?" Luffy rolls his eyes and barely keeps in a huff of annoyance.

"I got a smoothie because I was _hungry._ I didn't eat breakfast and I couldn't take it anymore." The bell rang and everyone retreats to his or her classes. The hallway is dead empty save for the two brothers who are glaring at each other with their fists clenched.

"And you don't have to be so bitchy." Luffy continues. "It was only one class." Ace feels his temper burning bright.

"You won't get anywhere in life if you just fucking slack off all the time."

"Yeah well at least I'm not a heartless bastard who takes advantage of Sabo's absence to use his stuff!" Luffy yells.

"That's not true and you know it! I wish you would stop being such a crybaby and took some responsibility in your life! Gah, if only you weren't such a-" Ace gets cut off when Luffy does something he never thought he would do. He slapped Ace across the cheek, hard.

Ace blinks in bewilderment before wasting no time slapping Luffy right back. This leads to a full-blown fist fight in the middle of the hallway.

And this wasn't like the normal scraps they has at home, this was heated violence. Ace kicks Luffy into the locker that is retaliated when Luffy jumps forward and slams his fist into Ace's nose. They continue the scuffle and earn bloody mouths and noses when they are both suddenly grabbed from behind.

"What the hell are you two doing?!"

Ace and Luffy both look up at Shanks in mild surprise before glaring at each other silently. Shanks pulls on the scruffs of their shirts, leading them to the office.

He lightly pushes them on the bench in the waiting room while mumbling, "Wait here." After several minutes of tensed silence went by, the bell rang and people streamed into the hallways.

* * *

"Hey, did you guys see Luffy at all this morning?" Usopp asked the group. They were all currently walking out of their classrooms to get lunch.

"No, I didn't even see him in the first class this morning." says Nami.

"Weird, so unlike him. Well, he has been super weird lately." Brook points out. Zoro groans and steps in front of the group, stopping them all.

"It's obviously what's happening between him and his brother that's making him depressed. As soon as we find him or Ace, we're straightening this thing out!" He declares. The group nods then looks to see Marco and Thatch approaching.

"Hey! I heard you guys mention Ace, have you seen him around today? He disappeared after 1st period-yoi." Marco asks. Sanji shakes his head.

"No, we haven't. We can't even find Luffy anywhere today."

"I saw Luffy walk into the school around the end of first period. Looks like he was late." says Thatch.

"But he didn't show up for class at all. What is going on here?" Nami demands.

"Hey did you hear about the fight today?"

"Yeah, I heard there was blood all over the hallway.

"Rad! Wish I could've seen it."

"Just look at them! Must've been a harsh one."

"Aren't they brothers though?" The group looks around at the gossiping teens around them. Everyone seemed to be talking about a fight that went on during class.

Out of curiosity, Marco approaches the office waiting room and looks through the window. His eyes widen when he sees Luffy and Ace sitting in the office with wounds and blood littering their bodies.

"What's wrong Marco?" Robin asks. He keeps his shocked gaze on the window as he beckons the others to look. They all squeeze their faces in to look at the brothers.

"Wha- what happened?" Chopper exclaims.

"Did they do that...to each other?" Franky suggests weakly.

"With the way they've been glaring at each other, I think so." Thatch says. Suddenly, the principal door opens and the brothers both lift their heads up. Shanks exits the room with a straight face and beckons them inside with a hand. They stiffly get up and walk in and the door is softly closed behind them.

"Man, their gonna get in some serious trouble." Thatch says.

"I hope the professor knocks some sense into their heads." Sanji mutters. The crowd eventually disperses except for ViVi. She stands at the door and thinks about all the changes that happened to Luffy over the past week.

"What's happening to you Luffy?"

* * *

Ace and Luffy were sitting in their respective chairs, both staring at the ground and away from each other. Not wanting to look at the disapproving looks of the teachers in front of them.

Shanks and Coach Newgate had addressed the boys to speak before hand, but received no response. The teachers were simply examining their favorite students with worried eyes.

"We know you both have been rather, distant, lately. Care to tell us why?" Shanks asks with a frown. Ace shifts in his chair a little but they both keep their eyes down.

"I don't understand. The week before you were inseparable and now you can't stand to even look at each other." Coach Newgate props his elbows on the desk before continuing.

"Ace, whenever I talk to you now you just mumble something and look out the window for the whole day. You won't even bother to try and give an effort in football practice." Shanks stands up and almost desperately tried to meet Luffy's eyes

"Luffy! You even forgot about prank day! You _never_ forget prank day, it's your favourite part of the week!" Shanks exclaims. Again, no response. Luffy starts chewing his fingernail and his eyes slightly close. Newgate sighs and strokes his large white moustache.

"Fine, I can see that we can't make you talk. But you better figure this out amongst yourselves." The teachers silently leave and Shanks gives Luffy a disappointed look before closing the door behind him. Shanks and Whitebeard linger near the door window, watching them. The brothers stay silent for a while not saying a word. Luffy continues to bite his thumb.

"You shouldn't have taken Sabo's car." Luffy finally speaks out. Ace glares at his brother then snorts.

"For the last time, it's a _car._ If you would've just got in then I wouldn't have had to leave you behind."

"So it never crossed your mind that Sabo's kidnapper would come and just swoop in-" Luffy makes a swooping gesture with his arm."-to take me away because I was alone?"

"Look Luffy, I won't let anything happen to you guys! Nothing was going to happen to you so you don't have to be so-"

"I don't want to hear it Ace! I know your trying to be the responsible older brother and all, but what can you really do? What can _we_ really do? Sabo already lost an arm because of us. _His fricking arm._ We have absolutely no power right now and I hate it. So let me ask you Ace, what are we going to do?" panting heavily, Luffy looks at Ace with serious eyes.

Ace looks at him in hurt, and then sighs in defeat.

"I'm sorry Luffy, I don't know what I'm doing lately." he says, looking at the floor. Luffy stays silent waiting for Ace to continue.

"God, I'm the worst big brother in the world. How the hell could I just leave you alone 'and' use Sabo's car. I have no idea what the hell I was thinking. I was just so... _mad._ " Luffy turns around, fully facing Ace.

"You aren't a bad brother! I was just being too dramatic. I'm sorry for being so weak throughout this whole ordeal, I'm doing nothing useful." Luffy dumps his head in his hands and releases a frustrated sigh.

Ace gives Luffy a hard look."It's not like we could do anything in the first place. We're always in a tough spot." Ace suddenly noticed how tired his brother looked. Like his spirit was severely worn down.

 _'He can't take much more of this.'_ Ace suddenly decided to tell Luffy about the text he received.

"I've got to tell you something important Luffy, so you better listen." Luffy fixed his unwavering gaze on Ace. Ace gave a shaky sigh and spoke.

"A-a few days ago I got a text from the kidnapper. At first I thought it was another ransom note but..." He trailed off to gather his thoughts. "He said kill you, or Sabo dies. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier Lu! I just didn't know what to do!" He yelled desperately. But Luffy's head had snapped up, his mouth hanging open.

"I-I got the same text. Kill you or Sabo dies." Luffy stammered. Ace looked at him with shock, then understanding shone on his features.

"I think the reason we were avoiding each other was not from anger, but to avoid confrontation. Think about it, when we did interact, we were both looking at a reason to be mad each other. I think we did that to soften the blow if we did end up killing the other. When we were separated, it gave us a reason to not fulfill his request." Ace finishes. Luffy gazes sadly at the ground.

"I'm _so_ sorry Ace. I just didn't know what to do. I couldn't kill you! But if I didn't, Sabo would be dead!"

"I'm sorry too Luffy. Man, we're in fricking high school. We shouldn't be talking about murdering people."

"Well what do we do now Ace? If we don't kill each other, then he's gonna murder Sabo."

"Then we need to find him. And fast. But I don't know where to start." Luffy stares at the ceiling, biting his thumb in thought.

"Well, there's Mr. Burgess we still haven't explored. But I realized a while ago that he was at school while Sabo was kidnapped. So no matter how much of a bastard he is, he's not the kidnapper. But I have no idea who that guy was that knocked me out. You said he was a large man right?" Luffy's eyes widened and he smacked himself on the face. "We totally forgot to talk to Bellamy. We were too busy being mad to remember." Luffy looked at Ace and notices he was deep in thought. Ace slowly looks up at Luffy with a look of realization on his face. Luffy gives Ace a questioning face then Ace started to explain.

"Luffy. When you got knocked out, Bellamy was looking _behind_ us. He could see the person sneaking up on you Lu!" Ace yells. He quickly looks to the professors looking at them curiously through the door window and looks away to his brother. Luffy had a horror filled look on his face.

"So he was lying? That means Bellamy knew who took Sabo!" Luffy's horrified face quickly turns into one of rage. "And you know what, Sabo caught someone trying to break into his car at the football game. It was probably Bellamy but he didn't know who he was. I also saw two people arguing at the game. One could have been Bellamy being scolded at the other for getting caught."

"We've got to get Bellamy _now._ " Ace hisses. They are about to run out the door to beat the shit out of Bellamy (laws be damned) when the principal, Mr. Kaidou comes in.

"Sit down boys, I'm here to deliver your punishment." He says in a deep voice. The principal's appearance is quite intimidating. Standing well over six feet, he's so muscular he gives Coach Newgate a run for his money.

Ace and Luffy drop to their seats and look expectantly at the principal. Ace's foot tapped impatiently on the ground, eager to go.

"Impatient are we? Mr. Portgas?" He says, raising an eyebrow. Ace scowls but stops twitching his legs.

"Now then, before I tell you your punishments, I must urge you to not pull this kind of stunt again. Am I very clear boys?" He says I'm a dark tone. They both bob their heads up and down in understanding before Mr. Kaidou pulls a folder from his desk and places his reading glasses on his nose.

"To start, Mr. Portgas, you will be having detention every day after school for the rest of the month. And yes, I am aware that you have football practice. However, consider this extra punishment. You shall miss them and stay in detention instead." Ace wanted to object, but knew better. Mr. Kaidou let his gaze rest on Ace for a while before turning to Luffy."And you, are in deeper trouble than your brother here. Since you are the one that provoked the fight, you will be expelled effective immediately. This will be a four-day suspension then you will have detention a month afterwards. Understood?" He asks harshly. Ace starts to protest but Luffy cuts him off.

"Yes, i understand. I'll be leaving then." Ace and Luffy quickly stood up and walked out the door. They ignored the expectant looks from Shanks and Coach Newgate and stepped out to the hallway.

"I have to leave, so it's up to you to find Bellamy. I'll piece together some information we can show to the police to let them know what's been going on."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Ace asks. Luffy good-naturedly smacks his back.

"I'll be fine. See you later."

"Okay. But when you get home, wash up. You look like a mess." Ace laughs.

"You aren't exactly squeaky clean yourself brother." Luffy smirks then walks away to his locker.

* * *

A few minutes before Luffy got expelled, Shanks and Coach Newgate were observing the two boys talking through the window.

"Wish we could hear them." Shanks says when he sees Ace and Luffy glare at each other. Luffy suddenly yelled something really long at Ace then Ace looked away with a sad look on his face.

"I hate seeing them like this. I think of Ace as a son to me, and I like seeing him happy. He's a good kid. But he's been hard to handle lately." Coach Newgate sighs."Same with Luffy. He's always a bundle of energy but now...he's depressed." Shanks sadly looks down.

"I hope they aren't having home issues. I've never heard of any particular parental figures that either of them has. Maybe that's what's affecting them now." They turn back to the window and see that the brothers have small smiles on their faces.

"Looks like they made up. All they really needed was to talk to each other." Coach Newgate says in relief. Although they were grateful the boys were feeling better, they felt a little disturbed when they saw Ace and Luffy's killer expressions.

* * *

Luffy hurried down the hallway, eager to get his stuff and leave.

 _'I hope Ace can handle Bellamy by himself.'_ Luffy ponders worriedly.

"Luffy!"

Luffy spins around when he hears his name and sees ViVi run towards him.

"What happened Luffy? Why were you and Ace in the office?" She asked when she caught her breath. Luffy continued to walk with ViVi to his locker.

"Me and Ace just had a fight over something really stupid. It's over with now, thanks for worrying about me though." He flashes her a smile then opens his locker.

"But Luffy, you've been acting all weird ever since the football game. You're so distant from your friends all the time. You'll hardly talk at lunch anymore let alone eat, you haven't pulled a prank in forever and I don't remember the last time I've seen you laugh or smile!" She yells exasperatedly. As she's lecturing him, he starts packing his homework away in his bag."What are you talking about? I smile all the time." He says with a small grin.

"A real smile Luffy. Not a fake one." Luffy stops packing and looks guiltily ahead. He suddenly sees something taped to the back of his locker. He looks a little closer and notices it's a message.

' You're one step closer to getting one brother for another. However, you took too long.'

Luffy just stares at the message with a strangely straight face.

"Luffy? Are you okay? Was I too harsh?" She asks worriedly. She didn't want to loose a friend! Luffy suddenly sighs, feeling exhausted. He stands up with a sympathetic expression.

"I have been a little odd lately, haven't I? I'm sorry. I'm grateful to have friends like you who put up with me." She looks at him in concern, and then shakes her head to claim a determined expression.

"Um, Luffy! Would you like to, um, go to the movies with me sometime?" She asks, a steady blush creeping her features. He stares at her with wide eyes for a while, blinking multiple times.

Then he breaks into a grin so bright that it could compete with thousands of suns.

"Sure! Sounds like fun!"

* * *

As Ace walked out of the bathroom, all clean from blood, Marco and Thatch spring on him.

"Ace! What the hell happened-yoi?! Did you and Luffy seriously fight?!" Marco asks.

"Yeah we did, no biggie though. We solved the problem." He said absent-mindedly. He was too busy thinking of why Bellamy would do such a thing to Sabo. Ever since his revelation, he couldn't get it off his mind. Sure the guy was annoying, but it disturbed him to think that Bellamy would go this far to provoke him.

"Oi! What the hell is wrong with you? You've been spacing out all day!" Thatch yells.

"Have you guys seen Bellamy today?" Ace asks, ignoring Thatch's harsh tone. They look at him in confusion.

"What? Who cares! Ace! You've been really odd for awhile now and we need to talk about it!" Marco yells urgently.

 _'I need to hurry! One second away is one second more that Sabo is hurt! I'm so close!'_

"Where's Bellamy?!" He yells at them.

"He isn't here today, okay?! He left a few minutes ago!"

 _'Left?'_ He thinks confusedly. Why did he leave? Then it hits him like a ton of bricks. Luffy. Ace suddenly sprints down the hallway to the exit.

"Ace! Wait! We aren't done!" His friend's voices are drowning in the background as he leaves the building. He cranes his neck around the parking lot to find Sabo's car. When he spots it, he runs and jumps over the door, wasting no time starting the ignition and speeding off.

 _'Please be all right Luffy! I'm coming!'_ As Ace pulls into the driveway, he notices how the door is cracked open. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he kills the engine then silently runs up to the door. He gently pushes it open as it squeaks loudly, exposing the eerie house.

"Luffy?" He calls, stepping into the house. When the only response is the echo of his own voice, he jogs through the hallway towards the kitchen. As soon as he rounds the corner he stops at what he sees.

There's a large man, no doubt the one from before, wearing a full black suit with a ski mask that made him look like a creepy cereal killer. In one hand he was holding an unconscious Luffy by the neck. The other held a knife, lightly pressed to Luffy's throat.

Ace's first feeling was a deep overwhelming fear. This was the man to cause all their suffering. He somewhat didn't feel prepared to take him on. But as soon as he saw the fresh bloody face of his brother, he found new fury deep within him.

 **"LET MY BROTHER GO YOU BASTARD!"** Ace screams as he springs at him with fists up. Suddenly, a blunt force hit his head and he felt his face smack into the floorboards. Only one thought escaped his mind before he blacked out.

 _'Bellamy.'_

 **CRAZZZZYYBLEACHSNDIDBDJDNS. I've been excited to write that chapter for a long time. When I always thought of the story, this was the chapter that came to mind.**

 ** _Pheonix:_ Boooo self advertising! Lol jk glad you liked the chapter!**

 ** _Roxanne:_ The stress is over! Too bad I put another cliffhanger, sorry not sorry. Thank you so much for the compliments on the story, it made me smile!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ It thickens even more… thank you for the compliment!**

 **Thank all y'all who followed the story! I love y'all!**

 **Please review and blah because I am a starting author and I function on input from others. Much appreciation goes out to those who have reviewed before!**

 _Next time: A bad Sabo reunion._

 _Until next week~_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 13**

 **HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**

 **Sorry for the lateness I was away and there was squat I could do about it. But yesterday I wrote out the next week's chapter in 2 HOURS. I think that's some kind of speed record for me.. ANYWAYS here's the chapter!**

 **DISCLAIMER: ONE PIECE AIN'T MINE**

Luffy wakes up in a dark room. The air is grossly muggy with a chemical smell that makes his eyes water. He tries to cover his nose but discovers his hands, feet and neck are bound by chains to the wall behind him.

He looks around with furrowed brows at his surroundings. Luffy was in a small barren room with a concrete roof and rusty metal walls.

However, Luffy noticed that he was not alone. Beside him was Ace, in a similar bruised state. He was just starting to wake up.

"Ace? Ace! Are you okay?" Luffy asks worriedly. Ace blinks his sleepy eyes in confusion before looking at Luffy's face with shock.

"Wh-*cough* what are we doing here? Where is here?" Ace asks. They both examine the room a little panicked. Ace looks over his brother and notices the new wounds that littered his body. There was blood running down the back of his head where his old wound was aggravated once more. Luffy had bruises all along his arms from where he tried to defend himself and cuts where the chains rubbed in.

Ace looks over his own appearance and determines that he wasn't much different. Instead of bruises on his arms though, he had scratches all along his body from presumably being dragged. Ace scowls at their predicament and leans his head back on the wall. Luffy spits to the side, trying to get rid of the blood dripping in his mouth constantly.

There are suddenly both jolted out of their stupor when the door creaks open. They both gasp as the kidnapper enters the room, without his mask.

 _'Mr. Marshall?!'_ They both think in unison. Mr. Marshall stalked in front of the boys with a smug look.

"Well you two look horrible. Zehahahaha!" He chuckles. The boys remain in shock at the revelation in front of them. Mr. Marshall? Well, he was always mean to Ace. But it was still completely and utterly unexpected. He was there the whole time! Giving Ace lessons as if there wasn't a problem in the world.

"Wha- why are you-?" Ace begins to ask, when Bellamy walks in. He sneers down at Ace.

"Pfft. I don't know why you think you're such a hot shot. It wasn't that hard to knock you out." He boasts. Ace growls and tries to jump at Bellamy but the chains haul him back.

"Hey! Stay away from my nephew!" Mr. Marshall snaps.

"Nephew?" Luffy questions aloud. Bellamy turns his gaze to Luffy and shoves his face right in front of Luffy's.

"That's right squirt! And you know what, since your Ace's brother, I hate you just as much as him now." he says darkly. Then he slaps Luffy on the face, sending him sprawling on the ground. Ace pulls on his chains to try and get to his brother.

"Luffy! You bastards! How could you do this?!" He demands.

"What?" Bellamy shrugs innocently. "It's not like he hasn't been slapped before." Ace flinches.

"Now now Bellamy, let's calm down a little." Mr. Marshall says, putting a hand on Bellamy's shoulder.

"Zehahahaha though I have to tell you how naive you both are to think you could outsmart me." Ace shook his head in frustration.

"Why bother with all the stupid games? Why didn't you try and kidnap us a long time ago, you had plenty of chances!" Mr. Marshall plants his hands on his hips and looks smugly at Ace.

"I planned this out carefully, I wanted to have a little fun you see. But Bellamy messed up the other day by getting his damn face seen by you two." He scowls.

"He had also broken into Sabo's car to initially grab the house keys, but also messed up there. We had a little spat; do you remember that straw hat? Anyway, instead we had to take more forward measures and take one of you first."

While Mr. Marshall was talking, Luffy snakes a hand into his pocket and tries to fish out his cell phone. He digs around but when he looks up, sees Bellamy waving two cell phones behind his uncle. Lucy grits his teeth and listens to .

"That's when you took Sabo? Wasn't it?!" Ace yells. "Where's Sabo? What did you do to him?" He demands. Bellamy leaves the room for a moment then returns with an unconscious Sabo being dragged by chains.

 _"SABO!"_

 _"SABO ARE YOU OKAY?!"_ They scream. They're afraid of Sabo's horrific condition, but find that tears spring from their eyes in relief. He was alive, and they could look after him now.

Bellamy immediately locks his chains to the wall and roughly kicks him aside.

"Stop! What did you do to him?!" Ace demands. Mr. Marshall stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"He was all part of the experiments I'm conducting. You see I develop drugs. No, not just any types of drugs. _Special_ ones. And you all are vital keys to this projects succession." Luffy raises an eyebrow in question.

"Why us specifically? Can't you just get anyone else to do this?" He asks.

"Wow. You don't strike me as the insightful type, more like...moronic." He sneers. Luffy grits his teeth and glowers at the man.

"However, you are right to ask that question. The answer is…because of your parents." He says, raising a finger in exclamation.

"Dragon?" Luffy wonders aloud. A malicious smile appears on Mr. Marshall's face.

"Ding, ding, ding! That's correct! I used to work for Dragon and his partner Roger in the science field of research. I assume you don't know what they do, well I'll tell you. They develop drugs that can mutate the body to have super human capabilities." He pulls out two business cards and shows it to the boys.

"See the similarities in symbols? I developed mine from their official logo." He says, putting them away. Ace and Luffy are left gaping.

"Our father does that?!" Ace asks in disbelief. Mr. Marshall starts doubling over in laughter and does not stop for a while.

"What's so funny?" Luffy asks with narrowed eyes. Mr. Marshall takes awhile to calm down before pushing his face right in front of Ace's. Ace tries to turn his head away from the rancid breath but is grabbed by the hair to face him.

"You think Dragon is your father? Ha! His partner and best friend Roger is your father! You have no real brothers!" Ace stares wide eyed, speechless for a while before glaring at his again.

"You're lying!" He yells. But Mr. Marshall's smile just gets wider.

"I have no reason to! Plus, I worked with them for years, practically a brother!" He pulls Ace's face even closer and grabs ahold of his cheeks with a hand. He turns his face side to side, examining it.

"You even look just like him." Ace's breath hitches and his face is released.

"Back to the earlier topic, I was once a great partner to them. We achieved great feats with my brilliance helping them. Until one day when they kicked me out of the lab for _cruel_ and _unsafe_ methods of experimentation." His face faded from its angry period and he looked away. When he turned around, he had a crazed look in his eyes that made the brothers scoot back.

"I left angry. 'Very angry. But I decided to do my own research and show them the extravagant results, eventually with me gaining control over the company. And on that fateful day nine years ago, I decided to use their sons as the experiments. It would be the perfect way to get back at them for the humiliation. Who better to use than their precious sons who they love so much?"

Both brothers sat in utter stillness, not peeping a word. They couldn't believe their ears. So it was their dad's fault they were like this? They just couldn't process what was happening to them.

"Zehahaha! You both should rest; it's a big day tomorrow. I'll be seeing you, I've got to grade some papers! By the way, call me Teach. Zehahaha!" He cackles as he walks out of the room. Luffy swishes around his mouth and spits at Teach's retreating figure. It misses, and then Bellamy punches Luffy in the face, which makes Luffy clutch his cheek in pain.

"Know your place." He snorts then walks out of the room. As soon as the door closes, Ace turns to Luffy.

"Are you alright Lu? Stupid bastards." He growls. Luffy nods then flicks his gaze to Ace.

"Are _you_ okay?" He asks. Ace hesitates and looks at the ground, suddenly feeling lost about himself.

Luffy is about to comfort him when he notices Sabo stir. They both snap their necks to look at him and smile big when he opens his eyes.

"Sabo! Sabo are you alright?" Luffy asks eagerly. Sabo blinks a few times at them, as if he wasn't sure they were real. Tears start to gather in his eyes but he quickly wipes them away from his shoulder.

"I'm …managing." He says in a hoarse voice. "But how on earth did you get here? _Why_ are you here?"

"Unfortunately we got kidnapped as well." Explains Ace. He feels a sudden burst of emotion as tears run down his cheeks. " But, we're just glad you're alive. We've done everything we could to rescue you and stay away from those creeps. Sorry we couldn't get you out." Sabo has a smile tugging on his lips but hides it away and looks at the brothers seriously.

"You guys should've stayed away. This place isn't much better than death." He says in a husky voice. Luffy and Ace exchange worried glances. Sabo seemed so...broken. That was when Ace noticed something entirely important that shocked him.

"Sabo! You have two arms! Didn't he cut one off?!" He asks, wide eyed. Sabo gives them a questionable look as to how they knew that, but explains.

"That was one of the drugs they tested on me. It was a lizard mutation serum so when I lost a limb it immediately grew back." He says with a shrug.

They stare at Sabo, dumbfounded (This seemed to be happening a lot lately.).

"Um Sabo? What exactly are they going to do to us?" Luffy asks nervously. Sabo inhales deeply before explaining.

"Well, to be simple, they will test drugs on us by injection. It will give us an unusual ability for a varied amount of time. The abilities could be from animals to elements. Some of these drugs may not work at all. Others will hurt a lot more than others mutation wise. If mutation is successful, typically painful experiments are conducted on you until the drug reaches its limit and the mutation wears off. It is unbearable pain. Scary thing is, you have no idea if you are compatible with the drug and may die from any one." Sabo looks down at the ground, spooked and slightly shaken. Luffy sadly looks over his brother then determinedly gets their attention.

"Well at least you won't be going through this alone, right? Now, until we get out of this place, I want you both to promise not to die. But to survive this hell hole." He says calmly.

"Luffy, I don't think you understand the gravity of what's going on here-"

"No!" Luffy cuts Sabo off. "If we have each other, we have something to stay alive for! You've got to have the will to live to get out of here! So let me tell you again, promise not to die!" He yells. The brothers both hesitate, but determinedly promise that they will make it through this ordeal, broken or not.

* * *

"I can't believe that idiot went and got himself expelled." Nami complains.

"And what was Ace thinking? He just ran out of the school like a mad man without talking to us." Thatch growls.

"Let's just go talk to them and see what's going on." ViVi says calmly. With school finally done, Nami, Chopper, ViVi, Marco and Thatch are all making their way to the Monkey residence.

"I'm going to beat some sense into them for doing that to their own brother!" Nami cracks her knuckles threateningly.

 _'I hope Luffy's doing okay, he seemed a little stressed earlier.'_ ViVi thought. Though she couldn't get that huge smile out of her head when he agreed to go to the movies with her. When she starts to blush, Nami notices immediately.

"Vivi! Your face is all red! What's up?" She asks teasingly. ViVi immediately looks away and waves a hand.

"Oh it's nothing." Chopper walks in front of her and checks for a fever.

"I'm fine Chopper, really!" Nami is about to inquire when ViVi interrupts her.

"Oh look! We're at the house now!" As they walk towards the side door, they notice it's cracked open. They curiously step inside and cautiously walk down the hallway, softly calling Ace and Luffy's names.

When they reach the living room, ViVi heaves an ear splitting scream when she sees blood scattered about the floor. They all look around, flabbergasted, while Marco and Thatch search the rest of the rooms calling out to the brothers. Chopper clung onto Nami's pant leg, hiding his face and letting out choked sobs.

At this point Nami is calling 911 when Marco and Thatch return with nothing.

"There's nothing else in the house-yoi. Their gone." He says sadly. Nami lets out a heartbreaking cry just as the operator picks up.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"My friends are missing and they could be dead! There's so much blood!" She cries. As the operator consults her, they all stare at the blood littering the ground in severe worry.

 **I'm so tempted to write Blackbeard instead of teach. I write Blackbeard for all my notes anyway.**

 ** _Roxanne:_ Don't worry; this one isn't as much of a cliffhanger (internally sad) and me happy you like the chapter, I enjoy writing this fic!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Here's the next chapter! Hope you like this one!**

 ** _Phoenix:_ MWAHAHAHA CLIFFHANGERS! But here's a chapter that is less cliffhanger-y**

 ** _Guest:_ I apologize for the delay… here it is! ( im glad you are eager for more)**

 **Thanks to all the glorious turkeys who followed and faved and reviewed!**

 _Next time: Police are poop and the drug lab._

 _See you next time~_


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 14**

 **I almost forgot I was supposed to update today, too much homework…**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Everyone was gathered in the police station. All of which included Luffy's crew, Marco and Thatch. They had all been called down for a brief questioning about the boys and stayed hours later, awaiting news.

The first to come in was Dadan. She was hysteric when they gave her the call. She had run to the police station and almost strangled Thatch for information before she was dragged away. She remained in the station for several hours before they dismissed her and she headed home with a low head and a cigarette in her mouth.

Ace and Luffy's friends all had sad looks on their faces. Some were red and puffy from crying. They all jolt when Garp rushes into the station, panting.

"Where are they? What happened?!" He demands to the group. They all look sullenly away, afraid to meet his eyes. The constables take him by the arm and gently guide him to the interview room to brief him. Halfway there he wrenches his arms from their grasp and grumbles about being able to handle himself. Some release a collective sigh and they return to the gloomy silence.

"Does anyone know how this could've happened?" Sanji asks no one in particular. Some turn their heads to look at him while others leave their gaze transfixed far away.

"The police already asked us that question ero-cook." Zoro grumbles. Sanji glares at him, not to provoke a scrabble though. They didn't have the heart for that.

"I mean what do you guys _really_ think?" He asks again. Thatch shrugs and looks out the window.

"Who knows? The brothers are the coolest people I've met. I have no idea who would want to hurt them." He says.

"But, they've been acting so weird lately. Maybe it has something to do with the fight they had?" Usopp suggests.

"That's so off for them. What the hell would make them want to actually _hurt_ each other." Franky shakes his head sadly.

"I wonder if they knew something like this would happen to them. That would be kind of scary. I would be distracted too." Chopper says, tapping his leg.

Zoro and Marco get mad at themselves for not paying closer attention to their odd behaviour. They had both witnessed their jumpiness first hand and ignored it. Look where that got them now, if they had talked to them about it earlier maybe they would still be around.

Suddenly, the door bangs open and a young lady with makeup running down her tear slicked face is standing in the station.

"Koala?"

Everyone turns to look at Thatch whom just spoke.

"You know her?" Robin asks. Thatch distractedly nods his head up and down.

"She works at the bakery downtown where I pickup supplies all the time. What is she doing here?" He asks himself.

"Koala... Didn't Luffy mention that was Sabo's girlfriends name?" Sanji asks. As they were talking, Koala stomps up to them and looks them dead in the eye.

"Your Ace and Luffy's friends right?"

"That's right. What are you doing here Koala?" Thatch asks. She fixes her gaze on him as new tears rain down her cheeks.

"I think Sabo was kidnapped." She says meekly. That grabbed their attention. They're about to ask her more when the sheriff walks in the room.

"You all need to leave the premises now. The case is being put off to the side." He says unsympathetically. They all gape before exploding into a fit of protests.

"What do you mean put the case to the side?"

"Why the hell would you give up on them?!" They question harshly. The sheriff puts his hands up to settle them down.

"We aren't giving up on them. But learning of the questionable environment they were living in, it's been ruled as a runaway." The chief states.

"That's bull shit! What about the blood all over their house?!" Zoro demands.

"They had a fight earlier today did they not? We have reason to believe that they fought again at home. We will have patrols looking out for them but this happens all the time. It's nothing to take too seriously."

"Don't take it seriously?! Our friends are missing and hurt!"

"This isn't a runaway! They would never do something like this!" The group starts to crowd the sheriff until the police staff has to escort them all put of the station.

"I can't believe it! How could they just throw them to the side?!" Brook asks frustratedly.

"They probably just think they're a bunch of young troublemakers and don't feel like wasting their time." Nami says bitterly. She pulls out her phone and calls Luffy for the millionth time. No answer.

"If the police aren't going to do their job, we're going to do it for them! Are you guys down with it?" Thatch asks them with a mischievous expression.

They look at him, startled, and then their faces slowly morph into determined ones.

"I'm down!" Usopp.

"You can count on me!" Nami.

"I'll stay with you no matter what! Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji.

"I'll do it. Stupid cook." Zoro.

"They might need medical help so you'll need me!" Chopper.

"We'll find them suuuuper fast together!" Franky.

"Of course." Robin.

"Our own detective team! Yohohoho!" Brook.

"I'm in-yoi." Marco.

"I'll help too! I need to find my favorite brothers!" Koala.

"Alright! Let's head over to my house and talk things out." Thatch.

* * *

The crew is sitting in Thatch's spacious living room. It's modern looking and the space is well taken up by leather chairs and small decorations. Thatch enters the living room and places a tray of coffee and tea for his guests on the coffee table at the center of them.

When a few of them take a beverage and settle down, Thatch sits and addresses them.

"Okay guys, we have to say everything we think and know here. This will help us figure out what happened to them." He says. Koala raises her hand then puts it down as quickly as she brought it up.

"I think it was a kidnapping!" She declares. "Sabo never told me once that he was leaving and he would have definitely told me if he was going so suddenly! Ace and Luffy didn't even tell me where he left to!"

"But Sabo has been gone long before they disappeared." Chopper pipes up.

"Ace and Luffy have been suuuper jumpy and skittish in the last week too. Maybe they knew something was going to happen?" Franky suggests. Robin takes a long sip of her tea before speaking.

"Perhaps Sabo had gone missing and they knew it."

"That makes sense-yoi. They'd always talk about Sabo whenever they saw each other. That would also be why Ace kept cancelling our plans. He said he didn't want to leave Luffy alone while Sabo wasn't here, now I see why." Marco sighs.

"They must've been so scared! For themselves and Sabo!" said Chopper sadly.

"But why would they keep it a secret? That would be kind of hard to find him by themselves. I mean, the way they clung to each other it looked like they were expecting the kidnapper to jump out of nowhere." Usopp interjects.

"It doesn't make sense why Luffy and Ace fought each other though." said ViVi. After some deliberation, they decide to put that off to the side.

"Down to one of the obvious questions," Thatch begins. "Who would take them? Like I said, they're the coolest people I know. Sure they're troublemakers, but they wouldn't do something horrible like rob someone."

"Here, let's make a list of all the weird things we've noticed about them. It might give us a clue of what they were hiding." Nami explains.

"Well," Marco begins. "A few days ago when we had the soccer game, Ace went upstairs for awhile so I went to check on him. When I came in the room he was opening a package that apparently had a key to an apartment that Sabo bought for them. But when I asked if we could check it out, he pretty much screamed no."

"I remember you mentioning that. If Sabo was gone by then, then how could he go out and buy them an apartment. It doesn't make sense." Brook shakes his large Afro. Zoro frowns at the story.

"I wonder if that was the same package that Luffy picked up at the door. But when I asked him about it, he said it was a package _for_ Sabo. Not from." Thatch stands up and collects the empty cups.

"This mystery package and key seem important. Let's go back to the house tomorrow to find them and other clues that can relate to this."

* * *

Ace groggily opens his eyes to the dark room and feels a moment of unfamiliarity. It takes a second when he sickly realizes where he is.

He cracks his still neck side to side then looks at his two sleeping brothers. Ace's stomach twists when he thinks of what will happen to them from the tale of Sabo's suffering and the haunted look in his eyes.

Ace gazes down at himself and noted that he was dressed in a white shirt and pants. He looks over to Luffy and sees he had the same thing. They didn't have any shoes and they took Luffy's hat away.

Ace looks to his other side at Sabo's horrible form and torn clothes. He curses the monsters that brought him here.

Ace jumps when he hears the door slam open to reveal a doctor dressed in a suit appropriate for an operation.

 _'Oh shit.'_

The slam had woken the remaining brothers and they looked over the doctor in fear. The doctor surveyed them curiously, as if examining a diamond at the jewelers. He then snapped his fingers and more doctors filed in. They unclipped their chains from the wall and yanked them towards the door, not caring if they stumbled or fell.

Each brother has about four people pulling him. As soon as they are out of the room, they are dragged through a narrow hallway with glass windows on either side of them. Luffy looks out the window to guess where they are, but they are only windows to other rooms.

They walk further through the endless hallways until Ace goes to bite one of the people holding his chains. He successfully nips the man's arm when a shocking pain floods his body. He fell to the ground twitching and glared at the taser he had been shocked with.

Ace is vaguely aware of the arms that grasp him. His eyes blur upon seeing his brothers both yelling and fighting before they were carried away from each other.

The door is suddenly closed in front of him and he is hauled on a metal cot in a grey room. They quickly detach his chains and strap him with metal bars to the table.

Shock making him think clearly again, Ace looks around frantically at the doctors who surround him. One to the left of him turns around to a shelf filled with multicolored syringes. He scratches his chin in thought then selects six different ones. The syringes are laid out beside Ace and he looks wide-eyed at the colorful substances.

Another doctor took out a large book and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for.

"Today is mammal mutation. Let us commence." One of them took a syringe and popped the cap off. Ace struggled in vain as they plunged the syringe in him and released the strange liquid.

Ace felt fine at first, but suddenly a burning pain in his back made him convulse. He tried to keep his mouth shut but screamed out loud as it felt like needles were being stabbed into his spine.

Suddenly, he felt his back swell and grow in several places. He heard his shirt tear and the doctors swiftly cut it off. Ace shook his head in discomfort when he felt his face expand briefly before returning to normal.

 _'What the fuck just happened to me?!'_ He thought in bewilderment.

Ace was left with labored breaths when the mutation finally finished. He groaned when he was being levitated off the cot. Through squinted and hazy eyes, he looked over at the doctors milling around him.

"Half mutation it looks like."

"Maybe the dosage was too low."

"Subject has half successful appearance of camel."

"Despite his appearance, let's conduct multiple tests to see if he has full camel abilities."

"Alright then, let's see if he can withstand 5 days without water in 110 degrees Fahrenheit." They took the straps off his arms and he immediately jumped off the cot to escape. However as soon as he touched the ground he fell, unsure of his legs. They calmly walked up to him and clipped the chains back on his restraints. They dragged Ace down the hallway to a door with a sign that said 'observation room' plastered on the front.

They pulled him into the solid white room and chained him to the wall then left. The first thing Ace registered was the blistering heat of the room that rivaled the desert on its hottest day. Ace stuck his tongue out the side while loud pants left his mouth and sweat poured like a waterfall down his body.

In front of him was a large black glass window. Ace scowled at the window. Even though he couldn't see them on the other side, he knew they could see him.

Ace leaned his head back against the wall with his mouth open in short breaths. He glanced back at the two large humps inhibiting his back and swallowed down his nausea.

 _'Sabo, Luffy...'_ He thought, shaking the sweat off his forehead.

 _'What else is in store for us?'_

* * *

Sabo usually complied with being led away, but this was different. He had to put up a fight now, his brothers were here with him and were unaware of the real torture these white walls brought.

 _'I can't be broken anymore. They need someone to help them through this.'_ They strapped him to the oh-so familiar cot while he struggled to reach his brothers who had been taken away. He felt a flash of triumph when he managed to bite a scientist in the struggle.

The man scowled down at him and stabbed a syringe containing a knockout drug in his neck. Just as he was just slipping into unconsciousness, he felt a drug being injected into him. He felt a familiar prickle in his arm and inwardly scowled.

 _'Aw man it's the steel drug again. That one hurts like a bitch.'_

* * *

When Luffy saw Ace being tasered right in front of him, he couldn't help the rage that bubbled up inside of him.

"Don't hurt my brother you maniacs!" He screeched. Luffy tried to break free of the chains that bound him but could only struggle.

"Behave you rat!" A scientist yelled as he yanked the chain around his neck particularly hard. Luffy choked back and the rest of the men grabbed his shoulders and hauled him away. Just the opposite of him he could see Sabo being taken away.

"Ace! Sabo!" He yells to them. But his shouts are in vain as his brothers are already locked up in different rooms.

Luffy glares at the men bringing him further into the building and tries to kick at them. Suddenly, something grabs his neck and lifts him off the ground. With the rank breath in his face he could already tell it was Teach.

"Zehahaha! You better get used to this everyday brat, cause this is how your life's gonna be from now on!" teases Teach. Luffy spits right in his face and says a stream of curses. Teach calmly wipes the saliva off his face and grips Luffy's neck tighter.

"Fine then, let's teach you a hard lesson on what reality is." He throws Luffy to the ground and turns to the group of scientists waiting.

"Try the combo on him." Teach says simply. Several scientists look at him with shock and disbelief.

"B-but our testing isn't complete yet and you said that we should wait until the right time to do that!" One of them protests. Teach grins really big.

"Well it's the perfect time now! Zehahaha!" He laughs as he walks away. Some men grumble in protest, but they drag him away nonetheless. They haul him into a room with a metal cot and strap him to it.

"H-hey what are you doing?!" He demands while struggling. Sabo's warning rings in his head about having drugs tested on him.

He looks over at the doctors choosing two syringes from their bookcase of drugs. He lifts an eyebrow when they are mixing two of them together into one syringe.

"Be careful everyone, it might explode when it comes into contact." One scientist warns the others.

 _'EXPLODE?!'_ After a little bit of hesitation the syringe is plunged in his arm. He feels nothing, then his vision dances and turns white while his mind goes wild.

 **Don't worry he isn't gonna blow into a million pieces, how else could I end the story if that happened?**

 **I really hate uploading time, the website keeps crashing! GAAAAH**

 **Thank you anyone who faved, followed and reviewed! I realized today that I am so grateful for the amount of reviews I get every chapter, cause I got like 6 last one and I was jumping for joy! SO THANKS!**

 **That Random Guy: (love the user name) Thank you so much for reading this story! And the funny thing is, when you mentioned the error scene, I was just looking at a meme of that lol coincidence.**

 **Pheonix: lol no cliffhanger-ish again! I'm sure you would like faster updates (Let's be honest, y'all want me to hurry to post) but I've got this system goin' on where I'm really ahead so I can definitely post once a week instead of a maybe.**

 **SEllen23: Thank you so much! Thank you for saying it's awesome!**

 **Roxanne: I sorry for doing this to these brothers, but here is your long awaited update.**

 **Muffin2234: Thank you for picking it up! Don't stop reading!**

 **Guest: I honestly cry every time I look at Ace cause it just reminds me that he's dead. However I will give noting away.**

 _Next time: Beatin' on Bellamy and Sleuthing around_

 _~Adieu!_


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 15**

 **Here's a little late post but thankfully it's pretty long. Ugh for some reason this week I've been blahhh cause I forgot my best friends birthday, didn't finish a chapter, almost forgot to post and just got dumped with 3 major projects. It's just made me super forgetful and I'm glad I finally did something productive.**

 **DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

The whole detective crew of the D brothers friends walk up to the household. Marco jumps ahead of everyone and knocks on the door a few times. When no one answers, he slips a hand under the mat and pulls out a spare key.

"Why isn't their caretaker here?" Franky asks.

"I heard she was staying at Garp's place. Y'know, grieving together." Usopp points out.

"How do you know the key was there?" Brook asks, walking next to Marco. Marco twists the lock and the door creaks open.

"Saw them use it." He replies. The group hesitantly files into the dark house. Nami huddles closer to ViVi and shudders.

"I don't like being back here, I'm afraid we'll find something horrible again!" says Nami, scared. ViVi puts a comforting arm on her friends shoulder.

"We won't find anything this time Nami, the police already cleared it out and cleaned everything up." She soothed. And she was right; there was no blood in sight. The entire house was spotless.

"Let's split up and look for that key and package." Marco commands.

"Whatever you say, Fred." Thatch teases.

"Thanks Velma."

"I think of myself as a more handsome Shaggy."

"Focus guys."

The group divides itself and they look through the different floors and rooms of the house.

Marco, Thatch, Zoro and Robin approach Ace, Luffy and Sabo's room and push the door open. It's too dark to see anything, so Robin feels along the wall until she finds the light switch.

When she flicks it on, they examine the relatively clean looking room with three beds, three closets and a personal bathroom. They take their time rummaging around their room but find nothing. Thatch falls on Sabo's bed and groans.

"There's nothing in here. We looked _everywhere._ " He whines. Zoro rolls his eyes and continues his search.

"Maybe we should check the garbage? Perhaps they threw the package out since it was a useless box." Robin suggests. They exit the bedroom (except for Zoro) and go to the garbage can in the bathroom.

Marco offers to go through it and sticks his hands in the bin. He makes several faces of disgust when he touches something mushy but continues with his task.

"Hey guys! Look what I found!" They all turn their gazes to Zoro whom is carrying a large cardboard box in his hands. He puts it down on the bed and Thatch and Robin gather around it while Marco returns to digging.

"What is it?" He asks. Zoro opens the top and they see piles and piles of disks.

"A whole bunch of CD's. Can't say I know what their for. It has Wednesday written on the side of it though." Zoro responds, examining the box.

"Hey! I recognize that! Hey Marco do you remember this?" Thatch exclaims turning to Marco. Marco takes his eyes away from the garbage and looks at the box. He stands there, puzzled, until he shrugs.

"No-yoi. Am I supposed to?" He asks. Thatch rolls his eyes and gestures to the box.

"Remember, when we asked about them Ace said they were his grandpas old home movies. What are the chances that he'd actually have this? Last time I remember he wasn't overly fond of Garp." Marco ponders for longer before smacking a fist in his palm.

"Now I remember! And you're right; I don't see the reason why he would bother watching those. And unless the old man was filming a documentary, I down think he filmed this much just for home movies." Marco turns back to shifting garbage.

"We will have to take a look at these as soon as possible." Robin notes.

"What else could they be hiding that they needed on film?" Zoro asks distractedly. Robin closes her eyes in thought while Thatch stares at the box as if it would reveal the answers.

"Perhaps they were looking for who did it?" The two look at Robin, startled. She noticed their surprise and continued.

"Think about it. If they knew who took their brother, do you really think they would leave it alone? They were probably looking for whoever this person was." She clarified.

"Your a genius Robin!" Thatch praised. She gave a light smile in recognition.

"I found something!" Marco yelled. He removed his hand from the bin and pulled out a torn piece of cardboard with two crumpled pieces of paper attached to it.

He gives the note to Robin's outstretched hand and the three guys examine the piece of cardboard.

"Looks like the box that Ace was opening. It says that it was sent from someone on this city." Marco remarks.

"The note came from the package right? What's it say Robin?" asks Zoro.

Robin unfurls the note and reads it with a frown. Her eyes darken when she finishes and silently hands the note to them. They read it and suddenly Zoro rips the note and throws it to the ground.

 ** _'I kind of feel bad you don't have any money for an apartment, so here's one for you. You'll find your punishment in there.'_**

"It seems that Ace wasn't lying when he said that it was for a new apartment." Robin remarks.

"So this bastard was making threats against them! How dare he?! And punishment? What the hell is that?!" Zoro rages.

"Looks like he took all their money for ransom too. Didn't they say they had 5000$ saved up-yoi?" Marco asks.

"Yeah, so they had to give up all that money to keep their brother alive...damn it!" Thatch yells. Zoro punches the wall and Robin immediately puts a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find them Zoro, trust me. But you have to keep ahold of yourself to do so okay?" She asks seriously. Zoro takes a few deep breaths before taking his fist off the wall. Marco didn't say anything, but the entire time he wanted to do exactly what Zoro did.

"Let's go to this address on the package and see whatever's in this place." Thatch says bitterly. Suddenly they hear a shout from the kitchen and rush over to Usopp, who's waving a beckoning hand to the counter.

"Look what I found guys." He says smirking. He lifted a key in his hand and waved it back and forth.

"Is this the key you saw Marco?" He asks.

"Yeah it is. Good job Usopp." He praises. Usopp lifts a finger under his nose and rubs, giving a smug expression.

"Well that's to be expected of the great treasure hunter Usopp who can find jewels on the bottom of the ocean and artifacts 1000 meters beneath the ground!" He announces.

 _'Sure he is.'_ They all think at once, except for Robin who giggles.

"We found some things too. Everyone needs to get back here again so we can tell them." says Thatch with a frown. Turns out no one had found anything noteworthy but were initially excited at the bottom floor's discovery.

After briefing, everyone is in a rage and wants to go straight to the apartment and murder whomever the bastard was who took them.

"That's great that you all want to go, but we need people to look over the disks. There's something important on it and we need to know what it is immediately." Marco explains.

After some discussion, Usopp, Franky and Brook remain behind.

"Don't worry about the CD's! We'll look through them suuuuuper fast!" Franky assures them. After hasty goodbyes, they all go to their respective cars to leave. Just as Nami is about to go into a car, she spots Koala standing beside Sabo's car.

She just keeps staring at it with a blank expression. Nami sighs and runs up to Koala.

"Are you okay?" She asks. Koala continues to stare at the car.

"Sabo loves his car." She finally speaks. "I used to think it was the dumbest thing, how he probably loved it more than me. But now... I can't bring myself to hate it. It's *sniff* the only close thing I have of him now." Tears are streaming down Koalas eyes and Nami pulls her into a hug.

"You don't have to worry about such things. We'll find him and bring that evil man to justice. So for now, hold your head up high." She encouraged. However, Nami could not bring herself to fully believe in these words.

* * *

Turns out they didn't really need to take their cars to their destination as it was only a ten minute walk away. As soon as they all pulled up and grouped in front of the apartment complex, the crew slammed the doors open and headed to the first employee in sight.

Sanji was the first to reach the man behind the counter and slammed his hands on the desk to gain his attention. The man was baffled at the chaotic group in front of him. He sure was getting a lot of customers lately.

"Can I help you-" he begun, but was cut off when Sanji shoved the torn cardboard box into his face.

"Who sent this?" he demands. The man gives Sanji a disdainful look as he pushes the box out of his face.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid I don't keep track of who sends packages in here."

"Then who does?" Nami asked, growing impatient.

"No one, I'm the only one who works here." Nami and Sanji looked like they were about to strangle the man when ViVi stepped in front of them.

"Do you have any idea of whom sent this? It's really important to us." She asks sweetly, her eyes pleading. The man hesitates then breathes a small sigh.

"Well, since there is only one resident of this entire building I can only assume it is from them." He says calmly to ViVi.

"Please! Who is it?" She pleaded.

"Two boys. But I don't think you'll catch them here anytime soon. They left as fast as they got in. They were in quite the hurry to leave, but I don't really blame them."

"What did they look like? What's their room number?" Zoro asks. The man examined them suspiciously, but gave them the information they were looking for.

"They are a rowdy bunch. Lovers I think. The older freckled one is named Sabo and he was rather rude. The younger one was quite short and has a very large smile." He describes with a straight face, only a small smile appears when he mentions Luffy.

They exchange glances with each other, knowing immediately they had the right place. Some had to hold in their chuckles at the lovers comment.

"Since your asking about them, I assume you're their friends. Their room is number is 27, third floor."

"Thank you sir, your help is much appreciated." ViVi thanked him. She then followed her friends who were already mounting the stairs. They kept climbing without distraction until they reached the top floor and hurtled down the hallway. The group screeched to a stop when they saw room number twenty-seven.

"It's too quiet." Robin observes while Marco fishes for the key in his pocket.

"Well the guy did say that nobody lives here. But I know what you mean." Nami shivered. Marco finally found the key and clicked the lock open.

"Guys," everyone looks at Marco's serious expression.

"Their kidnapper said they would find their punishment here. I just want to give you a heads up." He warns.

"So we're not going to all barge in at once, I'll push the door open and we'll _look_ inside. Got it?" They all nod their heads and some say a brief "yeah". Marco carefully places his fingertips on the door and lightly pushed it open. A loud squeaking accompanies the slowly opening door.

 _"AHHHHHHH!"_ Koala let's out an ear splitting scream and buried her face in Nami's chest to block out the view of the arm hanging limply in the center of the room. Marco, Sanji and Zoro spread their arms out and protectively hid the rest of the group from the room.

"Oh my god it's actually real! It's real!" Nami sobbed in fear. Sanji immediately went up to her and Koala, encircling his arms around them in a comforting matter.

"What the fuck, that's so sadistic..." said Zoro in disgust, shaking his head.

"B-but w-w-who-s-s is I-t-t?" Chopper asks shakily while hiding behind Thatch's leg that was struggling not to wretch everywhere. No one dared walk into the room before Koala started to sob even harder.

"Koala? Are you okay?" Nami asks, looking down at the girl in her arms. However Koala just pushes herself off of Nami and stumbled into the room, tears pouring from her eyes and sobs racking her body.

"Get back here! Koala!" Nami yells to her, but stops when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks over to Robin who was staring ahead with a blank face.

Koala is now right in front of the arm, frozen on the spot. The group behind her watches apprehensively at her actions. She suddenly lets out a big cry and sinks to the ground in despair. Thatch is the first to run in and comfort his friend while Robin walked slowly behind him.

"Koala?! What's wrong are you okay?!" Thatch asks shaking her to snap out of her stupor. It takes awhile for her to compose her self before she lifted her head to meet Thatch's concerned gaze.

"I-it's Sa-b-o's! It's hi-his arm! It has th-the scar on his p-palm!" She breaks down into another fit of sobs. The group stares at the hand open-mouthed in horror.

"Ace and Luffy..." Chopper mumbles. "They were dealing with someone like this? How...how did they keep this to themselves?! How could they smile while this was going on?!" He yells. Robin walks up to the arm and reaches on the ground below it.

"There's a note." She informs them before reaching down to take it. She delicately opens it and reads it aloud.

 _ **'Next time I won't be so easy on you, your lucky to just have a limb.'**_

They all just look down dejectedly. Even Zoro didn't have any more motivation to be angry.

"And he didn't go easy on them the next time..." Thatch trails off, thinking of the blood littering the ground at their house.

"There's nothing for us here. It was just a damn set up for them to get the warning." Sanji growls. They all exit the room while Nami is carefully supporting a scarred Koala. Marco locks the door behind him and heaves a big breath.

"This situation just took a turn for the worst. This guys not afraid to kill, he was willing to mutilate someone just to make a point." He says. Suddenly, Nami's phone buzzes. She quickly takes it out, takes a brief look at the caller I.D, and then answers it.

"Yeah...Mhm...I see... We did but, it's not good...we'll tell you as soon as we get back...okay...see you soon." Nami clicks off her phone and sighs.

"Looks like there was security footage on the disks but they aren't sure where it is." They all take their time heading out of the grimy building, wondering how they can face such a top-notch criminal.

They all stop and face each other when they finally reach their vehicles.

"I'll go and tell Usopp, Franky and Brook what happened here. Let's meet up tomorrow at school to talk about everything that happened." Marco tells them. He has a commanding tone, but his eyes are solemn with what he had seen. They all give firm confirmations, now even more determined to find the boys and bring them back safely.

* * *

ViVi gathered her books at the sound of the bell ringing and stumbled through the crowd to her locker. She fumbled with he lock a few times before finally getting it open. She dropped her books inside and accidentally drops one of them on the floor. Vivi sighs in frustration and begrudgingly picks it up and puts it away accordingly.

She sadly looks over to Luffy's locker next to hers. She missed him, badly. ViVi had finally had enough guts to ask him out and he's gone. No, she shouldn't think selfishly like that. They could be hurt, or worse. And one thing was for sure, they were alone and scared. Well, maybe not alone, but they would be constantly living with the fear of the death of a brother. She bit her lip and held tears in her eyes in sympathy for the brothers she's come to love.

"Are you okay?" ViVi jumps in surprise and looks down at a worried Chopper. She hastily wiped her tears away and shuts her locker.

"Just thinking about Luffy." Chopper stands on his tippy toes and pats Vivi's back in reassurance.

"We all miss him, Ace, and Sabo but we're all doing our best so you have to think positive." He tells her. Chopper stops patting Vivi's back and walks next to Luffy's locker.

"We haven't checked his locker yet, there might be something suspicious that he was hiding in here."

"Your right, I'll open it." Every one of Luffy's friends knew his combination; he said that his locker is his friend's locker too. Vivi smiles at the memory and opens the locker to find standard textbooks. She looks through them for anything suspicious but finds nothing.

As she stands up, something taped to the back of the locker catches her eye. She pulls it off and reads what it says.

 _ **'You're one step closer to getting one brother for another. However, you took too long.'**_

She blinks in horror at the message. Get rid of your brother? What did that mean? Chopper, who read it beside her, just had an angry expression. After seeing the arm, this felt more like child's play.

"We need to show this to the others." says Chopper. But they were distracted by a large group of people (mostly girls) who were circled around a figure in the hallway. They started to approach it when a voice interrupted them.

"Whatcha got there Vivi?" Vivi and Chopper turned around to Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Robin and Brook approaching them.

ViVi blinked dumbfounded, and then realized they were talking about the note she had crushed in her fist.

"It's a note we found in Luffy's locker. It's another threat from awhile ago."She tells them. Zoro growls.

"Another one? I'll text Marco and Thatch about it." Then he takes his phone out and starts tapping away.

"Guyyyys!"

They all turn to Usopp and Franky who are running towards them. When they finally get to them Usopp is panting with his hands on his knees.

"Guys..." He says when he gets his breath back. "My dad was talking to me yesterday." Sanji rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"So what?" He asks impatiently. But Usopp shakes his head.

"You don't understand. He noticed how sad I was about Luffy 'running away'. He said it was weird because he saw him about a week ago at the college and he seemed happy." That grabbed their attention.

"When I asked why he was there he said he came to get Sabo's stuff for homework. Then he said that Sabo had been gone for a long time and it was kinda weird because he never missed school." Usopp finished with a serious expression.

"No way!"

"He actually did that?"

"I don't know if I'm shocked or impressed." The crew turns around to the crowd that had gotten much larger and louder.

"What's going on?" Marco asked as he and Thatch walked beside them. When they looked closer they could see it was Bellamy recounting a story of wacky proportions of how he knocked Ace out in a fight single handedly.

"Just ignore him, he's always looking for a way to ruin Ace's rep." Thatch snorts.

"He didn't even see it coming!" Bellamy says exaggeratedly. "It's been only a few days and he's still wimping out at home. Even his little brother won't leave his side! Too afraid of me, that's why!" He sneers. They're all itching to sock Bellamy in the face for berating their leader like that.

Marco suddenly recalls the last conversation he had with Ace.

 _Flashback_

 _"Oi! What the hell is wrong with you? You've been spacing out all day!" Thatch yells._

 _"Have you guys seen Bellamy today?" Ace asks, Marco feels his rage building up at his casual tone._

 _"What? Who cares! Ace! You've been really odd for awhile now and we need to talk about it!" Marco yells urgently._

 _"Where's Bellamy?!" He yells at them._

 _'Why isn't he listening?!' He thinks, enraged._

 _"He isn't here today, okay?! He left a few minutes ago!" Ace is left with a confused look before suddenly sprinting down the hallway._

 _"Ace! Wait! We aren't done!"_

 _Flashback done_

"Ace was looking for Bellamy! He must have something to do with this." Marco realizes. Sanji, his patience boiling over, marches over to the crowd. While excusing himself around the ladies, he goes up to Bellamy and snatches his collar.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Bellamy growls while he struggles as Sanji drags him over to their group. Sanji dumps him on the ground in front of everyone while he rubs his back in pain.

"What do you want?" He demands. Thatch kneels down to his eye level and stares at him with narrowed eyes.

"Why was Ace looking for you three days ago?" Thatch asks in a threatening tone. Bellamy pushed himself off the ground and angrily brushes the dirt off his clothes.

"How should I know what that idiot was thinking? He probably just wanted to fight or something." He turns to walk away but Thatch grabs his shoulder and forcefully turns him back.

"Hey! Get away from me!" He yells. But the group ignores his harsh tone.

"Oh yeah? Well I guess you guys did fight since that was what you were doing with him that day, right? That's what you told everyone?" Thatch says with a smirk.

Bellamy opens his mouth to retort when Teach approaches them.

"What is going on here?" He demands to the group. "I hope there's no fights happening." He eyes them suspiciously.

Thatch, realizing his hand is still on Bellamy's shoulder, quickly removes it and looks away.

"Thatch. I thought you were better than this." He scolds.

"Sorry Mr. Marshall, it was just a misunderstanding." Thatch apologizes. Teach just turns around and places a hand on Bellamy's back, gently guiding him away.

 _'He's sure treating someone who just bragged about fighting pretty well._ ' ViVi thought. She was startled when she heard a cell phone ring. Thatch quickly answers it and turns away for a few minutes. After an abrupt good bye, Thatch informs the group that it was Koala with some information.

"She asked around the college if anyone knew where Sabo was going or if he had mentioned it but none could say. But she did find out that his car was sitting in the parking lot while classes were going on, but he wasn't there. And the weird thing is that one day it just disappeared." He tells them. But Thatch confusedly looks at the phone before continuing.

"Koala said that people were telling her that Sabo was at the school not too long ago. But when she asked a description, they said he had black hair and freckles." The crew is speechless until Usopp speaks.

"That must have been when Luffy came into the college to get Sabo's stuff from my dad."

"They were looking for something in there." Zoro confirms.

"I asked Koala to try and find security footage of that day." says Thatch.

"Oi ViVi, let's read that note you have." Zoro interrupts. She gives the note to Zoro and the crew reads it all at once.

"Getting one brother for another, was he going to trade Ace for Sabo?" Franky wonders aloud. Nami shakes get head.

"He wouldn't do that to Ace, he's his brother."

"But Sabo is also his brother." Brook points out.

"I think your all missing something," Robin says.

"What is it Robin-chwaaaaan?" Sanji swoons. Robin briefly chuckles at Sanji's antics.

"This person had gotten inside of Luffy's locker to plant this note. With the security here I don't think they'd be able to sneak in."

"So what you're saying..."

"Is that it's a student doing this?" Usopp finishes Choppers sentence. She nods while examining the note.

"And I think we have a pretty good idea of who it is." All their thoughts turn to one person in particular.

"Bellamy."

 **Usopp doesn't recognize the CD's because he hasn't been to the college in awhile! Sorry no ASL in this chapter, but the next one only focuses on them.**

 **Thank you for the favs and followers! Love ya guys!**

 ** _Roxane:_ Sorry about the name error I just quickly looked at it and didn't really look at the spelling. I enjoy writing a dark themed story, it seems more entertaining and thrilling to me! Thanks for reading!**

 ** _Phonenix:_ Aaaand the system continues lol hope this long chapter was worth your wait!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Thank you for loving this story! Read on!**

 ** _That Random Guy:_ I know the police are useless, but it would be boring if they handled everything. So now it adds a little pizazz making the crew do everything. Sorry for making you worry about the bros! (Not really this is an angst fic for a reason.)**

 **I MIGHTTTTTTTTT post two chapters this week. The next one is pretty small and it doesn't really seem fair to make you wait for that little section. I don't really want to break my system especially since I'm behind on writing, but I feel like I should do it.**

 _Next time: Hurtily Bonding bros_

 _See ya next time~_


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 16**

 **I apologize for the short chapter, I had another really slow week and didn't finish last week's chapter. Ugh sometimes I wonder what the hell were in me that helped me write 3 chapters in a week like whaaaaat. I know I said I might post twice this week, but I'm so behind I don't want to fall back for next week.**

 **I can never seem to be over Aces death. Sometimes I'm just like, can you please just pop up and be alive like Sabo?**

 **Btw Happy late Halloween! Hope y'all had a good one!**

 **DISCLAIMER**

 _'Ugh'_

Ace awoke with a groan in his original cell. He was eternally grateful to be out of that white room or the one with probing needles and different drugs.

He gazed around at the rusty walls with distaste. He didn't remember the last time he looked out a window. In fact, he had no idea how long he's been in here.

Had it been hours? Days? Weeks? He couldn't tell with all the crap he was going through. And in all this time he hadn't caught a glimpse of his brothers once. Ace shivered when he remembered the horrors that just passed.

Through the haze he recollects being injected with multiple drugs, all Zoan they had said. Whatever that meant. Ace feels the lingering pains on his body, particularly his arms from the injections.

Mentally, he was a mess. Through each trial he went through some type of mutation, he still couldn't process how it was possible. However each mutation resulted in failure and he was brought to the white room. They'd observe him through that pane of glass and leave him without any resources longer than he should. They would eventually announce failure then repeat the cycle six more times with different drugs and so on.

The first thing he transformed into was the worst. Being a camel meant that they forced him into that 'blasted' hot room without one drop of water. This drove him to have hallucinations about his friends taunting him with buckets of water in their hands.

This was the first break he's had since then and he suddenly felt an overwhelming need to see his brothers. Not the ugly faces of the scientists or the white and grey walls he's spent too much time staring at. He needed to see Luffy's bright smile and Sabo's joyful blue eyes. Ace craved some color in his life.

 _'Is this how Sabo felt?'_ He thought with a pang of sadness. A groaning from his stomach made him snap out of his thoughts. He let out a big sigh and fell against the wall.

 _'I'm so hungry and thirsty.'_ Ace swallowed. _'They only gave me small portions of each after an experiment.'_ Ace rattled his chains as he crossed his arms and begun to think.

 _'If one experiment finally succeds, then what? Are we freed or will we be lab rats for the rest of our lives?'_ Ace scowled at the ceiling.

 _'Right, like they'd ever let us be known. The whole project would be scrapped and they'd be arrested if the authorities knew it was being done like this.'_ Ace drooped and scrunched up his face.

He missed his friends, heck, he missed everyone. Even Dadan and Garp. He felt a deep sense of pity weld up in him for Sabo. He probably felt the same way waiting for Luffy and him to come.

Ace suddenly jumped when he heard the door bang open. His heart rate sped up when he looked at the unconscious form of his blonde brother. He looked so beat up and exhausted that it was a miracle he could still breathe.

Ace flinched at his appearance and yelled curses at the scientists who brought him in. After a swift cuff to the head, the scientist quickly left and slammed the door with a bang.

Ace felt a slight twinge in his head, making his head dizzy. He ignored it and looked over to Sabo who was starting to stir. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, blinking the sleep away.

"Zat you Ashce?" Sabo slurs.

"Yeah. You feeling alright?" Ace asks him directly; noticing the dazed look his brother wore. Sabo shook his head side to side and squeezed his eyes tight.

"I'm okay. Better than most days actually." Sabo slowly pushed himself off the ground with his elbows. He sat up with a sigh and leaned against the wall, both brothers in a similar position.

Sabo fixes his gaze to the wall in front of him until he notices Ace's head leaning into his line of sight. Ace had a skeptical look on his face as he eyed Sabo's injuries. Sabo looks sideways to Ace, raising an eyebrow.

"What about you? It's your first time." Now Ace leans back and looks at the ceiling. After a moment, he closes his eyes.

"This place is rough." He admits. Sabo nods slowly in agreement.

"Hey, do you know how long we've been in here?"

"There was a clock near my cell and I believe it's been several days."

Ace was both shocked and not shocked. He knew that he'd been locked away for a long time, but part of him had wondered if some of it was just a distorted version of reality.

"Have you seen Luffy at all between transitions?" Sabo shakes his head with a grim expression.

"Maybe he started later than us." He suggested, though he could not keep the worry out of his voice.

"Damn it I want to see him. I want to see him _now._ " Ace hisses.

"Please be able to handle this Luffy."

With exhaustion clogging their brains they eventually fell into a fitful sleep. They jolted awake when they heard the door creaking open but it was only a scientist bringing in a small loaf of bread and a bowl of water. He threw it in front of them like dogs and hurriedly exited.

They waited for hours on end for their brother to appear through the door but he still hadn't returned. Ace fidgeted with his chains before throwing them on the ground in frustration.

"Damn it! Where is he?" Ace asks impatiently. Sabo frowns at the door.

"I have no idea. Sessions never last this long, at least they haven't for me." They wait again for what felt like years, apprehension thickening in the air. Eventually when they hear the distinct squeak of the door they both snap their necks to see who was coming.

They feel a mix of relief and anger in their throats when they see Luffy being dragged by Bellamy and clipped to the wall, leaving a blood trail behind him. He kicks Luffy in the head but Luffy shows no sign that he felt it.

"Don't touch him!" Ace and Sabo yell. Bellamy turns his head to them and they are surprised to see a very angry expression. He swiftly walks over to Ace and socks him in the jaw.

"STOP!" Sabo yells. It's too much to watch his brothers being hurt without doing anything to help. Quick as a flash, Bellamy's leg flies out and kicks him backwards. Sabo flies back and hears a crack as his head connects with the wall. He slides down the wall, barely conscious.

"SABO!" Ace screams in despair. But Bellamy is already beating on him again. Ace doesn't complain though, he wants to keep his attention off his brothers. When Bellamy gives Ace one last punch to the stomach, he leaves Ace to catch his breath on the floor at his feet.

"Your friends are annoying and keep getting in the way. I'm just taking out my anger." Ace coughs up some mucus in front of Bellamy's shoe. Bellamy snarls in disgust and puts the tip of his foot on Ace's forehead, moving it side to side.

"Don't know why people like your ugly mug so much. Disgusting." With that, he gives Ace one last nudge on the head and walks out.

Ace closes his eyes and grits his teeth. He begins to shake with emotion over his friends. They're looking for them, they may not know what's happening, but they're trying to find them.

"Ace?" Sabo's weak voice whispers. Ace looks to Sabo who is pushing himself up with a pained face.

"I'm alright," he answers before he asks. "Its Luffy in worried about." Sabo mentally slapped himself for forgetting his youngest and Ace and he shift to try and get closest to their brother as possible.

It was an awful sight. He was so bloody and bruised that it looked like someone tried to flip him inside out.

"Oh god. Luffy? Luffy can you hear me?" Sabo asks softly with rising desperation.

"Does he even have a pulse?" Ace thought aloud in horror. Sabo, being the closest, shifts over and examines his brother. He let's out a sigh of relief when he sees the faint rise and fall of his back.

"He's breathing, but barely. Ace we can't leave him like this."

"But we can't do anything! Like hell they'll give us medical attention. But I thought they were supposed to keep us alive?!"

"They don't need all three to make an example Ace." Ace stiffens and falls silent. For the next few minutes the brothers simply sat in silence, only listening to Luffy's occasional rasping breath.

Ace pulls his knees up and hides his head in his arms. He just wanted to go home. So bad. It's been only a few days and he's had enough. He's scared. 'Really' scared. For himself, for his friends who are looking for them but mostly his brothers who are trapped with him.

"Ngh.."

The brothers immediately look to Luffy. At first they thought they imagined his voice, but then he started to stir. With some effort, Luffy squints his eyes open. He tries his arms to sit up but finds it too difficult, so he settles on the ground instead.

"Luffy, are you alright?" Sabo asks. It takes a moment before Luffy tries to speak, but it results in a coughing fit.

"You don't have to answer. Just relax Lu, you look rough." Ace tells him. Luffy finally starts breathing normally and swallows with his dry throat.

"I'm just glad to be out of there cause it hurt." He wheezes.

"What happened Lu?" Ace asks. Luffy takes a moment to gather himself before speaking.

"It's kinda hard to remember but I'll try. When I was being taken away I did something to make Teach mad and then they took me to 'the duel room' whatever that is. And then they mixed stuff together then put it in my arm. It felt a little weird at first but then it hurt a lot. I don't really remember much after that, all I know is that they fixed me up a little then I woke up here." Sabo's eyes darken and he swears out loud.

"I know what they did to you Luffy. And you don't want it to happen again so don't fight him. Bad things will happen if you do it again." He warns them both. Ace and Luffy give disapproving looks at Sabo.

"There's no way I'm backing down! We're gonna escape!" Luffy declares.

"But what about your injuries? You're lucky your alive! I don't want to loose you guys!" Sabo begs them.

"Sabo, we're going to die if we stay here." Sabo snapped his head over to Ace.

"Might as well die trying right?" Ace gives a weak laugh. Sabo hangs his head and chuckles.

"Why did I have to have such hard headed brothers?" He asks the sky.

"We won't die. Besides, we promised we'd stay alive. Didn't we?" Luffy asks with a tired grin. Ace and Sabo smirk and they soon fell asleep with aching joints and damaged heads.

 **Thanks to all the reviewers from last chapt!**

 ** _Phonenix:_ Sorry they ain't gonna be found for awhile!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Thank you so much!**

 ** _That Random Guy:_ I had Scooby Doo in mind when I wrote this lol! Thanks for the review!**

 _Next time: Where did they goes, and nobody knows._

 _See you next Sunday~_


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 17**

 **Funny, the plan for the whole story decided to delete itself just as I started writing the last chapter, is it a sign? Well it made me sad to see all my careful planning go straight down the drain... So right after I made two copies of this story, just in case.**

 **I probably would've stopped writing if I lost anymore than that so thank goodness.**

 **DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE**

The boys had been missing for weeks and the whole school had noticed by now. Different rumors and speculations were floating around as to why they had been gone for so long.

In this time the group could scarcely get any info. When Koala tried to obtain the security camera footage she was caught and kicked out, now awaiting the chance to get back in. However, she found out that some footage had been stolen around the time that the brothers had come to the college.

The crew had ran around the school looking for Bellamy everyday, however he had been missing school and no one seemed to know where he lived.

So in short, morale's were low.

 _"Would Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Robin, Chopper, Franky, Brook, ViVi, Marco and Thatch please come to room 215? I repeat, please come to room 215, thank you."_ Nami looked up from her bag she was packing at the speaker.

"Hey Usopp, do you know what that's for?" She asked her curly haired friend. He shrugged his shoulders and they both walked out of the classroom into the flood of students going home.

"Anyone know what this is about?" Nami and Usopp hardly acknowledged Franky's sudden appearance.

"No idea." Nami replied curtly. There was no laughs or smiles here. As the trio enters the classroom they already notice Robin, Zoro and Brook siting at their respective desks. They give small hey's and sit down in silence.

After minutes went by, Chopper, Marco, Sanji and Thatch enter. They all just hurry to their seats and tap their feet expectantly. When a few of them were debating to leave, the door opens and Shanks and Coach Newgate walk in. The crew exchange confused glances.

Coach Newgate took the seat behind the front desk while Shanks sat on the table with his arms folded and a frown on his face.

"What do you guys know about Ace and Luffy?" Shanks asks them. They look away from them in uncertainty. Should they tell them?

"We know it may be a bit out of place to ask this, but we still worry about them." said Coach Newgate. The group is silent for a while until Thatch speaks up.

"Okay, we'll tell you." Zoro accepts the decision and carries on the explanation.

"Sabo, Ace and Luffy were kidnapped by someone who is out to get them." He said gravely.

"Sabo had been kidnapped days prior to when they were taken. The kidnapper kept leaving notes for ransom and threats the whole time. They disappeared weeks ago with their brother and the police ruled it as a runaway because of their poor living conditions. But we decided to figure it ourselves, and that is what we found." Marco explains.

"Poor living conditions?" Shanks wonders aloud.

"Yeah, the three of them don't have any parents and live with their caretaker who doesn't do much to look after them." Nami describes.

"Well, they do have fathers, but they have never really met them because they are so dedicated to their work." Robin adds. Shanks nods slowly and ushers them to continue.

They all give details on the notes and their actions while Sabo was gone.

The teachers listened adamantly the entire time with blank faces.

"So that's their situation..." Sanji concludes.

"I knew something was weird with them. Luffy was so quiet and clingy to his brother. Then they suddenly have an all out brawl at school." Shanks says solemnly.

"What we don't understand is why they would fight in the first place." said Franky.

 _'Wish we could hear them.'_ Shanks's eyes widen at his old thoughts. He turns around to Coach Newgate who had kept the same serious expression the entire time.

"I bet what they were talking about in the office was about Sabo's kidnapping. That's probably what they fought over too judging by the note in Luffy's locker. It was too serious to be a normal fight." He points out angrily. Coach Newgate closed his eyes and nods slowly, recalling the feral look in their eyes.

"I assume they found who they were looking for at that moment." He says gravely.

"We think Bellamy has something to do with this, but we don't know where he went." Vivi informs them. Coach Newgate shifts in his chair and folds his hands together on the desk.

"What evidence do you have?" The crew then describes the incident with Bellamy and what he had said.

"And if you say that they looked like they figured it out in the office, Ace was really adamant about seeing Bellamy as soon as he got out of there." Thatch says, piecing it together.

"He has something to do with this! There's no better suspect!" Usopp yells.

"Why don't you all go to the police with this?" Shanks asks them a little harshly.

"Because we need to find who did this. If we just showed them the evidence we collected they'd either look at us as a nuisance or turn us away. Even if they did take the case, I don't trust them to put any effort in it at all." Zoro rants. After a long pause and stare down between Zoro and Shanks, Coach Newgate stands up.

"I'll take a look where Bellamy lives. Even though it is not appropriate for me to be snooping around files..." His gaze shifts around the stunned faces around him. "If he had anything to do with this I think it's the right thing to do."

A smirk breaks across Zoro's face as several huffs of relief are released from the crew. They were happy, now they were getting somewhere after so many weeks of lost hope.

"Did they have any other relatives?" Shanks asks them, sliding off the desk. They all shivered in unison.

"Their crazy old grampa, Garp." Franky recalls with a chill. Shanks face scrunches in thought.

"Huh, I know him. I talk to him in the bar- umm, well it doesn't matter how I know him. But he does talk about his son sometimes, so I suggest you go speak to him about Ace, Luffy and Sabo. It might very well have something to do with their parents."

"Why do you think so?" Brook pipes up.

"The things I've heard about his son aren't on the positive side of things. Plus, who the hell would dislike those three?" He says with a chuckle.

A ripple of amusement passes over them and Marco turns to look at them.

"Okay, Vivi, Usopp, Zoro and me will go talk to Garp later about their parents." Marco instructs.

"The rest of you will wait for any call from Koala that she found something." He turns to Coach Newgate.

"We're depending on you to get Bellamy's location. Thanks again." He does a little bow. Coach Newgate laughs loudly.

"Okay leader." Shanks does a mock salute.

* * *

Sick.

The people in here were sick. Their brains were sick.

They were sick. Incredibly sick of going through the same excruciatingly painful routine over and over again.

And they hated every second of it.

They hated Bellamy and Teach's visits the most. Always taunting, which led to choice words, then a long beating or a more painful session. The weeks that they were kept were too much to handle.

"I can't take it anymore. We've got to do something." Luffy and Sabo look at Ace whom just spoke. Sabo rubbed his bloody nose on his shoulder.

"Any ideas people?" They all sat in silence.

"Well I draw a blank. We don't even know where the exit is." Luffy complains.

"And how would we even break out of these chains? The scientists would catch us fast too, we're too injured to do much." Sabo contemplates.

"Whatever. I'm tired, let's talk about it sometime else..." Luffy drifted off into sleep. Ace sighs and gazes at his sleeping brother.

"Don't be discouraged Ace. It's just hard to think when we're this exhausted." Sabo comforts.

"I know, it's just we're only going to get worse from here. Might as well start now right?" He asks with a small smile. Sabo snorts.

"It's weird when you're being smarter than me. Just sleep right now." Sabo closes his eyes.

Ace wills sleep on, but it wouldn't come. His brain was busy racking for ways to escape. But his brothers were right; he had no idea where anything was.

He just hoped good fortune would smile upon them.

* * *

The next day, Luffy was jostled from his sleep from the scientists barging their way into their cell. They unclipped his chains from the wall and yanked him towards the door.

He glanced back at his brothers and noticed they left them there, still sleeping.

 _'Thank goodness their leaving them alone for now. I'm glad it's not Ace this time, they took him alone three times in a row.'_ When Luffy is yanked particularly hard, his foot stubs on the wall and he lets out a small yelp.

Suddenly his brothers blink awake and scream at the scientists to leave him alone. However their efforts are futile as they are completely ignored.

Cringing at the toe pain, he allows them to take him to one of the many white rooms for a session. They lead him down a hallway he's never been down before and looks around in curiosity.

As they progress further into the hallway, Luffy notices an open door with furniture inside. Upon observation, it was Teach's office complete with a desk full of papers and walls covered in framed documents and photos.

His attention was immensely peeked when he saw a particular map of the complex on the office wall.

Luffy dug his heels in the floor and tried to see the floor plan more clearly before they dragged him along.

Luffy smirked a little. He couldn't wait to tell his brothers about it.

* * *

It was the end of each of the brother's tests, and they were escorted back to their cells and shackled.

However, as soon as the scientists exited, Teach entered with a stern look. He immediately walked up to Luffy and smacked him hard across the face.

"Don't snoop around stuff that isn't yours." He snarled. All three brothers glared at Teach with hate filled eyes.

Suddenly, a vibration was heard across the room. Teach dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out Ace's cell phone. He smugly looked at the caller ID of Marco and presses ignore. He heaves a big laugh then walks out of the room, shutting the door with a resounding bang.

"Luffy what did you do?" Sabo asks when both brothers turn to the youngest. Luffy did his biggest grin since they were captured.

"I peeked into Teach's office! And guess what? There's a map of the building on the wall!" Luffy bounces like a kid on Christmas.

"Shhh! Keep it down Lu! But seriously? There is?" Ace asks with hope leaking into his voice. Luffy nods enthusiastically.

"There's no mistaking it!" Luffy suddenly pouts. "I couldn't get close enough to see what was on it. Sorry."

"No Lu! You did lots..." Sabo said, trailing off. He starts biting his thumb and he stares at the ground, mumbling to himself.

Ace and Luffy exchange looks and Ace prods Sabo's arm with a finger.

"Yo Sabo? What going-" he's cut off when Sabo sits up and smacks his fist in his palm.

"If we can bust free from these chains, then we can go into his office, steal the map and cell phone and then call the police and get out of here. A big bonus is that we also know for a fact that there is reception here by the call Ace's phone received." Ace and Luffy stare at him in bewilderment before breaking out into chuckles.

"Watch out Sabo, your genius is showing." Luffy snickers. Sabo clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, but still has a smirk on his face.

"So how would we get out of these shackles? We've got them on 24/7 and we aren't strong enough to break them." Ace points out. Sabo's grin grew feral.

"I've got a great idea. But it's going to require a little bit of insanity."

* * *

 **Thanks to those who reviewed! Please be a bae and drop one off when you have the chance that would be fantastic!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ What you don't celebrate Halloween? I feel sorry for you, but at least the treat you got was my chapter so I guess that counts right? Lol**

 ** _Phonenix:_ Yeah there's a little more of torture that remains that will feed your sadistic side…**

 ** _That Random Guy:_ Well this chapter has some bro bonding, and not-so-Scooby Doo gang so heeeeere you go!**

 _Next time: Plans revealed and initiated, unexpected yet relieving call._

 _Until next time~_


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 18**

 **Oops in the garp scene I totally forgot to add Sabo as part of the discussion! Oops! But on the bright side, my bus broke down a while ago and I got to write a lot while waiting for a replacement! Btw, I put lots o line breaks for dramatic effect, so I hope it doesn't look choppy!**

 **I'm actually delaying writing the last chapter cause I'm too sad to end it. Sighhhhhh**

 **DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE**

The sky was grey and the weather muggy as Vivi, Usopp, Zoro and Marco climbed the steps of the porch to Garp's residence.

It was a small, humble home made with red bricks and small windows on the front. The front lawn was a bit long from a neglected cut and the eaves trough was broken in the middle, causing droplets of water to rain down on the front door.

As they approach the door to knock, a large goblet of water lands on Marco's head. Suppressing a groan of annoyance, he knocks on the door, ready to get answers.

They hear a few clatters as heavy footsteps rush forward. Garp swings the door open with a hopeful expression. When he notices they aren't his grandsons, the hope slips into glumness.

"What do you want brats?" He asks, half grumbling. They all took a good look at his disheveled appearance. Garp was full of stubble, eyes bloodshot. His breath ranked of booze and he kept a grouchy expression.

"We need to ask you a few things about Ace, Luffy and Sabo if you don't mind?" Vivi asks, stepping up. Garp just turns and walks back into his house. He waves his hand in a beckoning motion and they reluctantly step inside.

Usopp immediately scrunches his nose in disgust. The whole house smelled like booze. Zoro, on the other hand, was thinking of asking for a bottle himself.

Garp stumbled over to the lazy boy and they noticed another presence in the room.

"So it wasn't any news..." Dadan trailed off, shaking her head.

"We're sorry, we didn't mean to make any false hope." Marco apologizes.

"Even if you didn't mean it we still felt it." She said gravely, putting a cigarette in her mouth. Garp takes a large swig of booze before speaking.

"So what do you all want to know?" He asks in monotone. The group felt a little uncomfortable with Garp's mood change, but pressed on.

"We don't think that they ran away. We have reason to believe they were kidnapped instead." Marco states.

"I know that brat, it's plain obvious. But the cops are too damn stubborn to change their minds." He says gripping the bottle in his hand.

"Do you know anyone who could have any reason to kidnap them?" Garp gives them a long hard look, and then sighs.

"We all know that its hard for those brothers to make enemies, so is that code for asking about their parents?" He asks, looking down.

"Yes. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to..." Usopp trailed off.

"It's alright. Their parents are scientists in a big corporation and as you may be able to see, they don't visit their sons often."

"Wait. I thought their parents were dead and they only had their father left." Zoro points out.

"They have different fathers but don't know it. Dragon is Luffy's father and his best friend Roger, is Ace's father. Sabo was adopted at an early age from abusive parents." The group stands stiff, another fault in their seemingly perfect family.

"Anyway," Garp continues. "Due to what they do for a living, they have many enemies from over the years. So actually many people would have the motive to do it."

"However, there was one man who stood out from the rest. Dragon wouldn't stop going on about him. His name was Teach. Never got a last name, he was using a fake one the whole time." The crew stares expectantly at Garp, hoping for a better description.

"Apparently, what he did was cruel and he got kicked out of the company for it. Threw a fit on the way out too." He took a big gulp of booze and sunk further in the chair.

"I don't know him personally, but by Dragon's description, I would say he's totally capable of kidnapping."

"So why don't we go after the guy?" Zoro demands.

"Already tried. But his identity was covered as soon as he left years ago as well as where he is right now. Some say he was conducting his experiments on his own."

"And these...experiments...are done using the products the company makes. Correct?" Marco asks. Garp nods his head gravely.

"That's right. The company makes drugs that can modify your body to have superhuman capabilities. I normally shouldn't tell you this since it's top secret, but I can trust you brats." Usopp frowns.

"And this guy who has dangerous drugs is possibly holding our friends?" He asks slowly. Garp stops drinking and stares at them for a while.

"What are you all doing?"

"What do you-"

"Why are you asking about people who could do this? Why are you poking your noses into it?" Marco chuckles a little and guides them to the doorway.

"Finding them of course. If the police aren't doing their job, we'll do it for them." Marco met Garp's eyes defiantly, waiting for an objection. He was surprised as Garp got up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you for doing this. You're truly magnificent friends to those boys. But be careful what you do. Don't be too reckless." Marco is shocked while the group smiles softly at the scene. Marco's face lights up in a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, we'll have them back soon!" With that said, the crew leaves the household. Garp returns to the living room and stands next to Dadan with his hands on his hips.

"Certainly something aren't they?" He says to Dadan. She doesn't say anything, but the small smile on her face speaks a thousand words.

* * *

That night, as the three brothers huddled in that smelly cell, they conjured up a plan. They discussed what they were going to do until the very last minute.

With determined looks they closed their eyes, waiting the next day when they would finally be free.

* * *

As Vivi got off the school bus a cold wind buffeted her, sending her hair in a flying mass. She shivered, not from the cold, but from the ominous aura that came with the breeze.

She shook her head and straightened her hair, however she could not shake the sense of foreboding in her head.

Vivi reluctantly stepped into the school and it felt like everyone's voices were muffled. The background seemed to be black and white, but for some reason she felt as if it were normal.

A sudden grip to arm snapped her out of her stupor. She glanced over to the ginger beside her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Do you feel this atmosphere too?" Nami asks, frightened.

"Yeah. And I don't like it one bit." Nami just nodded slowly as they walked down the long hallway to class.

* * *

"C'mon rats."

Luffy woke up with a start at the scientists' voice.

"I said come on!" The man grabbed his chains and jerkily pulled him out of the cell along with his brothers.

 _'Not again! I don't-'_ he cut his thought off when he remembered the talk he had with his brothers yesterday.

Luffy's grin grew when he met his brothers' eyes and they both gave tiny nods. He closed his eyes and let the scientist pull him along. He made it easier for him, but never fully cooperated.

The scientist was mildly surprised by his sudden mood flip but couldn't care less when he continued to yank him along. When they finally reached the drug room, Luffy let them strap him down as he watched another sort through the bookcase of drugs.

As they selected a few, Luffy closed his eyes and braces himself.

 _'The sixth is the last, the sixth is the last. Stay sane until then, STAY SANE!'_ And then they put the needle in his arm.

* * *

Vivi, Usopp and Chopper were at their lockers at lunchtime, discussing what happened with Garp.

"There's a lot of useful information he gave us, we should all meet up after school with Shanks and Coach." Usopp suggests.

"I'll text them right now." Vivi takes her phone out and texts them all the message in their group chat.

"We'll need to tell Shanks and Coach directly since we don't have their phone number." said Chopper.

"Okay let's go tell them now."

* * *

It was now the end of school, and the crew was gathered in Shanks's classroom. As they sat down, Coach Newgate and Shanks walked in holding a few files.

"I take it your found something?" Sanji asks. Coach Newgate nods and drops the files on the desk in front of him.

"Well, it wasn't easy but I managed to get some info on him on the computer as well as the paper files. Bellamy has quite the record on him ranging from assaults, thefts and vandalism. Strangely enough, he is always bailed out by his uncle who is his only living relative." Robin walks up to the desk and picks it up.

"Can I look at this?" She asks. He gestures for her to take it. She lifts it in her hands and skims over the information with her eyes.

"Who's the uncle?" She asks. Coach Newgate sighs and leans back in his chair.

"You may find this hard to hear, but it is in fact Mr. Marshall." They all gape in astonishment while Marco and Thatch re-think their teacher.

"I mean I knew he was mean to Ace, but I didn't think he would have something to do with this." Thatch admits. ViVi walks next to Robin and looks at the folder from over her shoulder.

She looked over Bellamy's file and under the family section was his uncle's full name: Marshall D. Teach. She blinked a few times then took the folder out of Robins hands into her own.

 _'That name, it's the same one we heard at Garp's house!'_

"Vivi, did you find something?" Brook asks. She slaps the folder on Marco's desk.

"Does that name look familiar to you?" She asks him. He looks it over then closes his eyes.

"Marshall D. Teach. The same name as the guy that Garp was after." He sighs.

"No way! It's the same guy!" Usopp yells in shock.

"Now everything clicks..." Zoro mumbles. The rest of the people in the room look expectantly at the small group.

"What? What clicks?" Shanks asks.

The group takes turns describing their visit to Garp's. They told them about Teach and his history with their parents.

"Mr. Marsha- I mean Teach, disappeared after their fight and no one could find him, until now." Marco finishes.

"So they had different parents...and it was their fault." Chopper says quietly.

"Bastards didn't even meet them and pushed this onto them." said Sanji, shaking his head.

"Teach...that guy was there since we were kids. He was around them their whole lives just stalking them. Oh god..." Thatch held his hand in his head and turned to the wall. The group just basks in silent fury at the unfairness of it all. Shanks grit his teeth and fixed his gaze on his clenched fists.

Suddenly everyone jumped in surprise when they heard a phone go off. Robin dug in her pocket and retrieved her phone. After a brief look at the caller ID, she placed the phone on the desk and hit speakerphone.

"Your on speaker phone." Was the first thing Robin said.

 _"Good because I have some things to tell everyone."_ Koala answered back.

 _"First of all, the videos that the brothers stole must have been the wrong ones because they accidentally took the ones from the week before."_

"So that's what was on the footage we looked at." Franky realizes.

 _"Now, I got into the camera room thanks to two troublemakers and found Bellamy stealing Sabo's car on video. I noticed that it was after Sabo got taken so I went back..."_ She hesitated before continuing.

 _"It was on a Wednesday, I found the video of Sabo being taken. H-he walked outside the college when Bellamy stole his keys and tried to run away. Sabo eventually caught up to him and it looked like he recognized him from somewhere. But...a big man dressed in black came behind him and knocked him out. He *sniff* picked Sabo up and threw him into their van and they drove away. Oh Sabo!"_ Koala starts to cry for her lost boyfriend.

"Koala! You did an amazing job! Please, don't cry! We'll get them back as soon as possible don't worry!" Thatch comforts his long time friend. There is some sniffling on the other end as she rubs her running nose and eyes.

 _"Yeah, thanks Thatch."_ He smiles at her happier tone then is pushed aside when Shanks comes up to the phone.

"Koala was it? We now have enough evidence to go to the police and rule this as a kidnapping. Can you give the video to them?" He asks her.

 _"I'll need to sneak back into the college to do that, they almost caught me last time so I couldn't take anything. I'm sorry."_

"It's alright, don't endanger yourself. Just wait until you can get back in and ask for it." He answers.

 _"Okay, thank you. Call me if something comes up."_ Then she hangs up the phone.

"I'll text her about Teach." Nami takes her phone out and taps away.

"Okay, now that we know for sure it's them, we need to find out _where_ they are." Zoro says.

Whitebeard reclaims the file and shifts through it, looking for some idea of where Teach lives but it was blocked.

"Big surprise there." Nami mutters in annoyance. They spend hours on end trying to look up anything useful but couldn't find any address to go to.

It was 12:03 at night and most of them were passed out on the table. The others could hardly keep their eyes open on their phone screens as they scanned websites looking for articles. Koala had come sometime in the night to help, but couldn't contribute much either.

Vivi's eyes were failing to keep open and she found herself using a textbook as a pillow.

As her mind was just about to fall asleep, her phone vibrated in an oh so familiar ring tone. She fumbled in her pocket and everyone else was starting to wake up.

Vivi finally yanked it out and stares at the caller ID on the screen.

 _Incoming call_

 ** _Luffy_**

 _Slide to answer_

 _Thank you to the two awesome people who reviewed! You guys kept me up!_

 ** _Roxane:_ Thank you for the long review! Those are the best to read! But in your suggestion about Sabo's unpopularity he is actually a great student as stated by Yasopp in earlier chapters, but I will try and give an explanation about it in the last chapter! (as I have neglected to finish it out of sadness of this fic being done :( )**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Another long review, youpieeee! Don't fuss, you sound nothing like a snooty traditionalist. I honestly feel horrible for you, losing a few weeks of work is nothing compared to six years. Thanks for the review and your sympathy's!**

 **On your way out, please leave a review. I see they've been going down as of late and it's getting me down. Alors s'il-vous plait just let me know what you think of the story! Merçi!**

 _En prochain: une conversation avec le mort et les changes dans le corps._

 _Until next time~_


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 19**

 **Still haven't written that last chapter…**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Vivi could hardly fathom what she was seeing. Luffy was calling her. He wasn't dead. She felt overwhelmed as she dropped the phone on the desk with a clatter.

"Guys it-it's Luffy!" She yells.

"What?! Answer it!"

"Ask him what happened!"

"Where is he?" She's being bombarded with questions as the phone continues to ring.

"Quiet! We need to hear whatever is on the other end. May it be the boys or not." Coach Newgate booms. Shanks eagerly walks up beside him.

"That's right, now put it on speaker phone and stay quiet. Let ViVi answer." He gestures to her and she quickly slides the button.

"Luffy? Is that you?" She asks cautiously. There's nothing but heavy breathing on the other end.

"Luffy where are you? Luffy? We're all here."

 _"Shhhhhhh!"_ The group jumps at the sudden noise.

 _"Shishishi! You guys gotta stay quiet or I'm gonna get caught."_ He says amusedly through labored breaths. _"We're at ummm... Marksville central building. I have no idea what it looks like from the outside, sorry!"_

"That's fine Luffy! We're on our way!" Vivi says before they all spring up and jog down the hallway.

"Are you okay Luffy? How've you been?" Sanji asks, running next to ViVi.

 _"Well...I've been better actually. Not exactly getting my full 15 meals a day."_ They all giggle at the joke. They aren't sure if it's from relief to hear his voice or hysteria that they will finally see them again.

"How on earth did you make it to a phone?" Zoro asks.

 _"It was hard, but we made a plan to get out and it's going pretty smoothly."_ Luffy replies with pride. Shanks laughs tearfully.

"Hi Luffy. It's Shanks."

 _"Hi Shanks, thanks for picking us up."_ Luffy says quietly but happily.

"We know its Bellamy and Teach who are behind this by the way." Franky informs him in a hushed voice.

 _"Really? How'd you guys find out? Never mind, I'll ask you when we get the hell out of this place."_

"You idiot, your so reckless." Nami scolds him as she wipes tears from her eyes. He lets out a light chuckle.

"Hey Luffy, is Ace with you?" Marco asks eagerly. Koala and Thatch push beside him and lean over the phone,

"Or Sabo? Are they okay?" Koala asks.

 _"Sorry guys, not with me at the moment. They are finding the way out."_ He replied.

"What do you-" Thatch stops when he hears a hitch in Luffy's breath. Luffy remains quiet with stilled breathing.

"Luffy? Luffy what's wrong?" Chopper asks desperately. Luffy remains quiet for a moment longer before replying so quietly, they aren't even sure they heard him right.

 _"Say nothing and make no noise."_ So the group halts their movements and holds their breath in anticipation. They hear a slight scuffling and the sound of something breaking before any more noise died away. It seems Luffy releases breath he was holding as his breathing suddenly became more intense.

 _"Okay it's fine now."_ They continue down the hall and push the door open to the starry night outside.

"Are you alright Luffy?" Shanks asks calmly, though they could tell he was really worried on the inside.

 _"I'm just having troubles holding the phone is all."_

"Why would that happe-" they are cut off once again when an ear splitting alarm blares on the speaker.

 _"Shit they got caught. Well I've got to go, thanks for caring guys. Shishishi."_ He ends with his signature laugh.

"We'll be there as soon as possible!" ViVi says as they pile into their respective cars. Luffy laughs again.

 _"You better hurry, you might miss all the action-"_ suddenly his phone signal cuts out and Nami, who is sitting beside her, curses.

They turn their attention from the phone to the road ahead and speed towards their destination with new vigor.

* * *

 _'Several Hours before phone call'_

Ace is chained to the wall in the white room, glaring at the scientists through the black glass. He was on his sixth and last trial for the day, which was a drug that gave him the power to create and manipulate flames.

They were currently conducting an experiment to see if anything could pass through him. Ace barely winces as they jammed another knife in his leg. Just like all the others, it eventually rusted and fell out of him with a clatter on the floor.

 _'Damn, I'm running out of energy. I've got to go soon.'_ Ace thought as they shot him with a couple of bullets. They thought that the objects passed through him unwillingly, however he was actually controlling where to activate his flame powers so he didn't get hurt.

Since he had been using his powers to avoid dying for the last few hours, it took a toll on his energy.

Ace was barely keeping himself awake at the moment and the other five trials that day didn't exactly help.

 _'I've got to time this right.'_ Ace kept himself deadly focused on the scientist in front of him, twirling a knife in preparation to throw it.

As soon as the knife was flung, Ace turned off his powers and sent a quick prayer. The knife imbedded itself in Ace's arm and he screamed at the pain. He scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to block out the horrible sensation.

He shakily turned his head to look at the horrible wound. The knife was hallway through his shoulder and blood was pouring down his arm. He couldn't feel his arm, which was a little concerning, but he was slightly satisfied. He had activated his powers at the last second to prevent the knife from going straight through his arm.

 _'Worse injury than I wanted, but it'll do.'_ The scientist's crowd around Ace and one none too gently rips the knife from his body. Ace grunts in pain and glares at him.

"Thanks for being gentle." He says sarcastically, voice hoarse. They ignored him, like they usually did, and touched and prodded his body in examination.

One scientist who was writing things down on a clipboard said his observations aloud.

"Hmm, powers have run out and testing has failed earlier than expected...take him back. We're done here." With that, he walks out and beckons the others with him.

 _'Earlier than expected? Nice to know you have faith in me...not.'_ He thought bitterly. The remaining scientists detached him from the wall and he thumped to the ground with a groan.

"Get up!" One shouted while tugging him forward. Ace shakily got up and trudged down the hallway, leaving a blood trail along the floor. Despite the disturbing image of his arm, Ace had a big smirk on his face.

They pulled him into his cell and locked the door behind them. Ace patiently sat on the ground, waiting for his brothers to return.

Short moments later, his brothers are escorted and shackled to the wall alongside Ace. The scientists retreat and close the door with a resounding bang.

They remain in silence for a while until Sabo and Luffy look at Ace expectantly. Ace smiles and they all grin in response.

Phase one success

"Hey Ace are you okay? Your arm looks a little worse for wear." Sabo asks, eyeing Ace's bleeding shoulder.

"Yeah I'm fine, you guys don't look so hot either." He points out. Luffy was sporting a large bruise on his lower jaw while Sabo was missing his front tooth. He had a thin trail of blood running from his mouth. "So what powers did you guys get?" He asks excitedly.

Luffy has a proud look on his face as he grabs his cheek and stretches it to an unfathomable length. Ace and Sabo's eyes pop out of their heads as he snaps it back into place.

"Shishishi, I'm a rubber man who's invincible to punches and bullets! I can stretch everywhere too!" He says eagerly.

Sabo shakes his stupefied look away. "If your immune to blunt attacks, how did you get that big bruise?"

"It was hard, but I had to harden my cheeks so it wouldn't stretch!" Ace snickers.

"Tch, that's a stupid power." Luffy snapped his head to glare at Ace.

"It is not! It's a cool power! Plus it's not like I could choose it!" He retorts.

"Hahahaha!" Sabo laughs. "Well my power is a zoan type. I'm a wolf who can bite through most things with sharp fangs and claws." He described, baring his teeth until they were pointy. Ace and Luffy jumped back in surprise as his teeth shrunk to normal size.

"And look!" Sabo pointed to his once missing tooth. "My teeth and nails grow back if I loose them!" Ace whistles while Luffy has stars in his eyes.

"So cool!"

"Way cooler than yours..."

"Hey!"

Ace chuckles. "I have a logia type, it's a fire drug that made my body completely made of flames." Ace demonstrates his powers by lighting his finger aflame like a candle. Sabo and Luffy give oos and awes in amazement. Ace waves his hand and extinguishes the flame.

"So, I think we should get this show on the road before the drugs wear off or they strap those 'special' cuffs on us." Ace says.

"Well said brother..." Sabo lifts a finger and grows his nail to a sharp point. He inserts the finger into the lock on his ankle and tries to unlock it.

"I don't know if I should feel impressed or disgusted." Ace points out. He shudders when he hears the scratching of the nail in metal.

"Well prepare to be impressed because..." The lock suddenly popped open and the chain fell to the ground. Sabo grinned and Luffy bounced up and down.

"Oh! Oh! Me next! Me next!"

"Calm down Lu, I'll get to you soon enough." It took about 10 minutes for Sabo to free them all.

Luffy stood up with a loooooong stretch. "I feel so good!" He sighs, twisting and turning his body in unnatural angles. Ace turns his face up in disgust.

"Stop that, it freaks me out." Though he couldn't blame his brother, he was to glad that he actually had the freedom to move as he pleased.

He looked over at Sabo who kept rubbing his red and scabbed wrists over and over again as if the shackles were still there.

Ace momentarily remembers that Sabo had been there longer than them. He felt a surge of proudness for his brother, being able to handle this all on his own.

"Ace?" Ace snapped his attention back to his brothers whom were staring at him.

"Watcha thinking about?" Luffy asks. Ace chuckles and ruffles Luffy's hair fondly.

"I'm just thinking how happy I am to have brothers like you guys." He says happily. Sabo blushes a little and Luffy stretches his arms to pull his brothers into a hug. He nuzzles into their chests.

"Remember our promise?" He asks, voice muffled in their shirts. They blink in surprise before Sabo rests his chin on Luffy's head.

"Of course." Ace can feel Luffy's smile grow as he hugged them tighter. Ace relaxed against them, enjoying the contact he barely had with his brothers.

"You can let go now. Your powers are still giving me the heebygeebies." Ace said in a mocking tone. Luffy pouts but snaps his arms back to his sides. The momentum, however, was too much and as his arms sprung back to him they snacked his face and he comically fell backwards onto the floor.

Ace and Sabo break into hysterical laughter while Luffy remains on the floor and hides his face in embarrassment.

"Shut up! I just don't have good control over it yet..." He trails off in shame. Sabo wipes his tears away and pulls the youngest off the ground.

"Don't worry Lu," Sabo pats his back. "You just need some practice." He assures him.

"Yeah, practicing to not look stupid. But I don't think anything is gonna help your situation there." Ace snickers. Luffy immediately wraps his arms around Sabo and scowls at Ace like a little kid.

"I don't like you meanie Ace! I like Sabo better, he's nicer."

Aces face immediately drops and he is taken over by jealousy. He turns around and crosses his arms with a tch.

"Pfft. Like I care." He totally cared. Sabo rolls his eyes at their bickering and gently removes Luffy's arms from his stomach.

"Don't take it too hard Luffy. Ace just teases you because he loves you." He tells Luffy. Luffy's eyes light up and he turns to Ace with a large smile.

"Reeeeally Ace? Is that true?" He asks. Ace snorts at his brother's childish behavior and lightly punches him in the head.

"Of course idiot. Now enough of this, let's go." He said, fighting off a blush. Luffy just chuckles and gives Ace a hug. Ace gazes down at Luffy and reminisces about the horrors he and his brother experienced while trying to find Sabo. He did not take this hug for granted, but instead melted into his embrace. Ace was glad to finally offer a comfortable shoulder to his little brother.

A sudden clicking noise is heard as Sabo unlocks the door with his extended claw.

"So cool!" Luffy's eyes were stars as he ran over to Sabo, Ace following close behind. They all peek down the long silent hallway. They scan for any signs of movement but find none whatsoever.

The brothers quietly step out and walk hurriedly towards Teach's office. The only sound that could be heard was the soft pitter-patter of their bare feet against the glossy floor. After many twists and turns, they see the door at the end of the hallway on the left side.

They slow their pace until they are standing right outside the office. There is a light shining from underneath the door, illuminating the dark hallway.

 _'Time for phase two.'_

Thanks for the peeps who reviewed and the person who faved _and_ followed!

 ** _xx-AnimeGirlz-xx:_ Thank you so much for leaving a review! I'm really glad you enjoy the story and thank you, cliffhangers are what I do.**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Thank goodness you managed to recover some I definitely would've set my laptop aflame if that happened lolz. Yes yes, ASL is putting their escape operation into plan! Thanks for reviewing hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I hope I get around to writing the last chapter before it bites me in the butt. Sigh, until then I hope reviews, favs and follows go up! Just dropping a simple saying that supports my story will make me happy!**

 _Next time: Fire and carnage_

 _~see y'all later_


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 20**

 **Hey! Yeah I know, its Saturday, but I will have zero time to post tomorrow so here's an early chapter! Sorry it's a little short, I hate when they are...**

 **So I went to this party that only had a few people that I was fairly acquainted with. We were playing never have I ever and someone said never have I ever watched One piece (I of course, put a finger down), but everyone else was like: "isn't that the show with the rubber guy? What's his name again? Larry?" And I had to hold myself back from ranting. They call themselves anime fans? Please!**

 **Sorry for the rant, please enjoy.**

 **DISCLAIMER One piece belongs to me not**

"Are you up for this Ace?" Sabo asks, eying his brother's arm. Ace rips his shirt and ties it around his wound.

"You bet. Just the thought of burning this place makes me excited." He rubs his hands together eagerly.

"Good luck! But don't destroy everything yourself! I want to break some stuff too!" Luffy shouts. They both smack their hands over his mouth and look at the door apprehensively. After no indication had been made that they were heard, they let go if his mouth with a sigh.

Luffy looked at them sheepishly and shrugged. They only rolled their eyes before Sabo grabs Luffy's arm and drags him down the hallway. They immediately veer at the corner and hide behind it. Sabo and Luffy allow their heads to poke out a little bit so they could see the action.

Ace snapped his fingers repeatedly and could only start a few sparks. After a few tries, his whole hand ignited and his already large grin grows.

He smacks his fists together and they both turn into balls of flame. Ace suddenly spins around and slugs at the first wall he sees. His fist breaks through the wall and it bursts into flames. He then ran further down the hallway and _threw_ his fire into a column that spun in a spectacular crackling mass. It hit a lab and it exploded.

At first the brothers were worried, but it was extinguished as Ace stepped out if the blaze, completely unharmed. He looked, in fact, like he was relishing in the heat. He proceeded to dance around the hallway, trying out new techniques to ignite flames while twirling around like a ballerina.

The smoke was building up and Sabo and Luffy had to cover their faces with their shirts.

"Don't over do it!" Sabo said mostly to himself. Suddenly Teach flings the door open with a bang. He covers his face against the smoke and looks side to side in shock.

He pulls out what appeared to be a walkie-talkie and spoke into it urgently. Teach jumps back, startled, when a storage room blows up. He speaks more urgent words into the walkie-talkie then pushes it in his pocket.

Teach walks tentatively towards the explosion and his posture changes into one of rage when he sees Ace throwing his flames like grain for chickens.

He shouts something in audible and runs towards Ace. Ace notices the man approaching and runs head first into the flames. Teach hesitates, then grabs a fire extinguisher off the wall and plunges into the chaos and after Ace.

Seeing that the office is unattended, Sabo taps Luffy's arms and beckons him forward. They quickly dash down the hallway and run into the office.

Luffy immediately shuts the door behind them, blocking the flames from entering. They uncover their faces and take deep breaths of clean air.

"Here's the map!" Sabo exclaims, taking the framed map off the wall. He places it on the desk and tries to determine a route out.

Luffy pulled on the collar on his shirt to separate it from his sweaty body. It was getting really humid in there and smoke was starting to creep in.

A flash of yellow and red caught his eye and he gasps in surprise. He eagerly reaches under the desk and pulls out his straw hat. Happy it was unhurt, he immediately puts it on his head with a satisfied 'hmph'.

Luffy then scrounges around the room for Ace's phone, flipping drawers and throwing things everywhere. Maybe Teach had it on him? Luffy sighed, frustrated but coughed instead. Startled, he looked and saw that thick black smoke was coming through the top and bottom of the door.

Sabo seemingly notices their predicament and swears, pulling his shirt over his nose.

"We need to do something about this smoke, we can't get out if we can't see or burn to death." He says muffled through his shirt. Luffy nods in agreement.

"Yeah but how?" But Sabo is already walking to the door and flings it open. Their eyes widen in shock at the large blaze in front of them. It had spread much further than they thought.

"That idiot! It's too much!" Sabo complains. They get down on the floor and crawl the way they came in. Sabo led Luffy further into the building, looking around for Ace. It was impossible to find an exit now; he had no idea where they were.

 _'Where is he?'_ Luffy thinks, eyes watering. He can barely keep his eyes open and he is coughing with every movement. He hears Sabo coughing up ahead and knows he's not feeling too great either.

They finally came to a clearing where the air was a little more breathable and stood up. Sabo looked around, trying to make sense of their location. He felt a tap on his back and turned around to see what had caught Luffy's attention.

His expression turned into a scowl at Teach, who was holding Ace's now non-flammable neck in a tight grip in the air.

 _"Teach"_ Luffy spits out, as if he ate something incredibly bitter. Teach looks angry, no, _infuriated_. Veins are pulsing from his head as he gives them a death glare. Ace is scrabbling with his good hand around his neck, trying to get loose. It's at that moment that the brothers notice the cuff around Ace's wrist. It's the one that they use to keep their powers at bay when they get out of control. They called it Sea Stone.

"You idiot! Do you realize what you've done?! You're burning all my research!" He screeched. Sabo took a challenging step forward.

"Serves you right bastard! You deserve to burn along with it!" He yells back. Teach squeezes Ace's neck tighter and glares even harder.

"Do you think you've outsmarted me?! Hardly! You aren't getting out of this alive! I'll make sure of it!" Teach puts both hands around Ace's neck and proceeds to strangle him.

"Get your hands off him!" Luffy yells, enraged. Suddenly a loud growl is heard and a hairy mass springs past him. It lands right on Teach and bites his arm, tearing at it with claws.

"Sabo!" Luffy exclaims. The wolf continues to maul the large mans arm until he drops Ace with a yelp. Sabo quickly nips Teach for good measure and hurriedly shifts back into his human form. Ace wobbles to one side but Sabo and Luffy are quick to steady him.

The smoke has filled the room at this point and they all start coughing. Luffy glances behind Teach and notices scientists barreling towards them, guns and extinguishers in hand.

"Let's go!" He yells urgently and they run away in the opposite direction of Teach and the scientists, supporting Ace in the middle of them. Sabo desperately tries to navigate the many halls but gets frustrated at the clouds obstructing his view.

The smoke is getting way worse but they don't stop, afraid to get caught by their captors. Ace wheezes and the brothers immediately know he was the worst with his earlier injuries.

Suddenly Luffy stumbles and they all fall into a mass of limbs, their strength failing as they struggle to get up. They all hack at the oppressing heat and smoke.

The brothers somehow manage to push themselves off the ground, but only with tremendous difficulty.

 _'Cmon legs_ move _!'_ Luffy thought with frustration. He looked to his brothers and was shocked when he saw that they had fallen in a heap on each other, unconscious.

 _'We're done for...'_ Luffy thought as his consciousness was fading. He looks to the side and notices one of the many storage closets. Its door was open and Luffy's eyes were assaulted with vibrant colors.

An idea springs to his mind. It's a crazy one. He might die, probably will. He looked back at his brothers, vulnerable and suffering and summoned his last bit of strength to crawl into the room.

Using the bookshelf as support, he pulls himself on his feet but almost sags down. Compared to the heat above, the floor was but a matchstick flame. He pushed himself along the various stands, scanning the drugs for something of use.

Luffy looks over the labels when one grabs his attention.

"This'll do." He rasps out. He sluggishly grabs at the syringe, knocking others over in the process. Luffy bites off the cap and immediately jabs it in his arm, squirting its contents into his body.

He knew it was dangerous, having two drugs in at once. He learned that the hard way. But if he didn't do it, he'd have to inject it into one of his brothers. Sabo certainly still had his abilities, and Ace...that was unconfirmed. But he didn't want to test it on him, no. Especially since that cuff was on and weakening him. It was now or never.

Luffy could feel the drug working it's way into his system, clashing with the one already invading him. The room seemed to tilt under him and he fell to the ground. He wasn't sure if it was from the smoke or the drug. Probably both.

A searing pain took over every part of him and he screamed in agony, pulling his hair. He lay in a convulsing mass on the ground, thrashing for a few seconds before going still.

With a strange numb feeling, Luffy pushed himself on his knees and crawled head first into the flames that were about to consume his brothers.

* * *

Ace was sure he was going to die. He was doubly sure when Sabo collapsed right beside him.

His lungs seemed to cave in on each other as he fought to rasp a single breath. Ace's eyes struggled to stay open and he allowed them to close, now only aware of his shallow breaths.

Ace felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. It was his fault that they were going to die. He had gone overboard with burning the place and completely forgot that his brothers needed to escape. He was such a failure. Ace even got himself caught by Teach of all things that was trouble they didn't need.

He opened his eyes a fraction to glance at the unconscious Sabo. Ace flickered his gaze to his little brother, who was dragging himself into a storage room.

He was finally drifting off and vaguely registered Luffy push something into his arm and a blood-curdling scream.

 **Thank you reviewers and followers! You make me so happy!**

 **Just found out my Nana has narcolepsy and laughed my ass off.**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the chapter!**

 ** _Roxane:_ Your friend is ten times more important than fanfiction! I hope she gets better! And I will never abandon this fic, I actually am still semi proceeding on the last chapter.**

 ** _xx-AnimeGirlz-xx:_ Im glad someone appreciates my cliffhangers lol. Thanks for the compliment and review!**

 _Next time: Luffy used Watergun! It was super effective..._

 _~On the next train station_


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 21**

 **Oh my god I almost died from stress this week. But the weird thing is, I always write more often on busy days. Perhaps it's a stress reliever?**

 **I GOTTA FINISH THAT LAST CHAPTER ITS COMING UP GAHHH**

 **DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE**

Ace felt a sense of peace overcome him. He could feel only dark, only nothing. He wasn't in a hurry to leave; it was much better than that smoke clogged room.

His brothers, he remembered, were the only things keeping him from staying in this strange void. Perhaps he should just let go? Stay forever in this peace with no stresses or worries?

No. He couldn't do that. He may not be much use to his brothers, but they need him. Ace recalls the horrible feeling of loss when Sabo got kidnapped. Thinking everyday that he could possibly be dead. That was true terror he didn't want Sabo to go through and that went doubly for Luffy who had already felt that suffering.

He tries to paddle through the darkness, find a way out. It was hard at first, the darkness was so thick and he was _so_ tired.

But eventually it started working and he could feel himself shifting forward. Feeling determined, he paddled harder, faster.

A light! It was just a spec, but he held into it like a lifeline. Soon he didn't have to paddle anymore, his body was being pulled to it, like some sort of magnet.

As he got closer he felt refreshing prickles across his skin and he relished in it. Ace was finally upon the light. It hurt his eyes so he closed them and let his consciousness fly free.

* * *

Ace awoke and firstly registered a light spray landing on his face. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to take a deep breath but coughed instead.

The next thing Ace notices is how much clearer the air is. He can breathe almost normally. He opened his eyes fully and had to wonder if he was still dreaming.

The sight in front of him was unbelievable. Luffy was in the middle of the dying inferno, limbs stretching and water spouting from his hands driving the flames away.

Ace shakily pushed himself up on his good elbow (the other is still quite numb) and stares wide-eyed. He just notices Sabo sitting up beside him with a similar expression. They both sit in silence, observing Luffy putting the flames out.

Ace was confused. Could his rubber abilities give him that sort of power? He cocked his head to the side, trying to make sense of it.

"It's the first time it worked." Ace turned his head to Sabo.

"Strange, for some reason rubber drugs and water ones are compatible. Who knew?" Sabo continued, shaking his head in disbelief. Ace furrows his brows and turns back towards Luffy, finally understanding. He can vaguely remember Luffy shoving something into his arm. He knew what that was now.

Suddenly Luffy's running back to them and places his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Are you guys okay? You breathed in a lot of smoke. Oh! Guess what? I got rid of a lot of the fire! Let's go and find the way out of here!" He rambled breathily, eyes lit up in excitement. Sabo put his hands up to ward off his brother.

"Whoa slow down Lu. I get its exciting having cool powers and all, but take it easy."

"Oh, sorry." He pouts and looks away. But he's still bouncing in excitement. Ace sighs and pushes himself up on his knees.

"I think we're feeling okay. Are you sure your okay with this?" Ace asks. Luffy rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Well of course. Let's get on with the plan!" He says excitedly. Ace is skeptical of his brother. It didn't take a genius to know that Luffy was exhausted. Ragged breaths racked his body and he could see slight twitch in his limbs every so often. And from what he could see before, he didn't have great control of either power. His arms would flail around with absolutely zero control and the fact that the complex was still on fire meant that his waterpowers weren't exactly on point. Ace shakes his head in defeat.

"If your ready. Sabo, did you find a way out of here?" Sabo scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'm afraid not. The smoke was too thick and I didn't take it with me."

"Okay then we'll have to track back to the office, grab the map and find our cell phones." says Ace. With that, they raced through the inferno in search of the room. Luffy trekked a little ways ahead of his brothers, providing the small protection they needed.

While Luffy took care of the flames, Sabo and Ace watched attentively for any signs of Teach, Bellamy or their goons in the maze of hallways. As luck would have it, they made it without running into them.

Since they had closed the big metal door behind them when they left, the flames were at a minimal. Sabo ran up to the map still laying on the desk and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness, it's not damaged." He and Ace looked it over while Luffy still tries to find the phone, whipping his arms around uncontrollably to tackle more possible hiding places.

"If we come out from- HEY!" Ace turns to glare at his brother.

"Don't hit me you idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" He snaps at him. Luffy barely glances to him from his task.

"Sorry!" He says unapologetically. "Don't have much control. Shishishi!"

"Here! If we take a short cut from some of the hallways we took getting here then we should be able to make it out fastest!" Sabo declares stepping towards the door.

"Okay! Lu! C'mon!" Ace calls to his little brother. However he pays no attention and keeps flipping through things, searching.

"I can't leave! We need to call for help!" He replies. Ace reaches out and grabs a wild arm.

"We don't need that right now! All that matters is escaping." He argues, pulling his brother with him.

"What will we do once we get out Ace? Collapse on the ground while Teach takes us again? We aren't strong enough to run away, only to get out. We need to call for help." Luffy replies in seriousness and tugs his arm out of Ace's grasp. Sabo opens his mouth to protest when Luffy cuts him off again.

"Besides! I'm strong enough on my own and you don't have to worry about the fire anymore! I got rid of most of it!" He insists. Ace stands his ground, ready to make a steady argument when he feels Sabo grab his good shoulder and gently guide him out of the office.

"Sabo! What-"

"He's right Ace. We can't do this alone. Besides, that wound of yours is really concerning me. You need medical treatment Ace. As fast as possible." Ace flinches slightly. He did find it disturbing that he had almost no feeling in his arm. The blood had crusted over and there was a constant throbbing that was extremely uncomfortable. The cuff that was right around his wrist made him really weak and dizzy. But would he tell his brothers that? No.

Ace hesitates, and then silently complies as he and Sabo leave.

"Good luck!" Luffy calls as he finally gets his arms back to normal. He keeps his arms firm (with much difficulty) and continues flying through the office. He eventually came upon a locked compartment in the desk drawer.

 _'This has to be it!'_ He thought in satisfaction. He quickly looked around the room and his eyes lit up when he found the key he was looking for.

 _'Now for the hard part.'_ Luffy grabs his floppy hand in his other and slowly approached the keyhole. Keeping a firm hand with a rubber body is harder than you think.

After numerous failed attempts, he finally clicked it open. He was welcomed with the sight of all three of their cell phones, completely unharmed. Luffy immediately snatched his up and clicked it on.

3% left. He checked Ace and Sabo's phones. Dead. He looked over his caller history and his eyes almost bulged from his head.

472 missed calls. Most were from his friends, Nami and ViVi in particular. He also got some calls from the police, Dadan and his gramps. There were a couple of numbers he didn't recognize, but he couldn't care less as he went to type in a number before his phone died.

"9...1... 1... 1... CMON DAMMIT!" He yelled in frustration. Luffy tried to press the buttons but his fingers would bend awkwardly to the side if he applied too much force.

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! THESE POWERS ARE SO ANNOYING!" He yelled to the sky. Instead of typing, he slid his finger to reply to Vivi's call instead.

As he pressed the phone to his ear, Luffy growls when he hears shouts of people at a close distance. He's so transfixed to the voices that he misses the one from the phone.

 _"Luffy where are you? Luffy? We're all here."_ Vivi's worried voice breaks through his trance. He hears the voices a little bit louder this time.

"Shhhhhhh!" He shushes them, but can't keep a serious tone. He's just so happy to hear them.

"Shishishi! You guys gotta stay quiet or I'm gonna get caught." He says amusedly, trying to keep his voice low. Suddenly he remembers why he called them.

"We're at ummm..." He scrambles his brain for the name on the map. "Marksville central building. I have no idea what it looks like from the outside, sorry!"

 _"That's fine Luffy! We're on our way!"_ Vivi says. Man her voice was like music to his ears. A break from the hell he's in now, a reminder of his real life.

 _"Are you okay Luffy? How've you been?"_ Sanji asks. He could hear their loud footsteps from the other line.

"Well...I've been better actually. Not exactly getting my full 15 meals a day." He jokes, trying to keep his real state to himself. He hears them all chuckling on the other end and smiles.

 _"How on earth did you make it to a phone?"_ Zoro asks.

"It was hard, but we made a plan to get out and it's going pretty smoothly." Umm, not exactly.

 _"Hi Luffy. It's Shanks."_ Luffy smiles at the quiet yet concerned voice.

"Hi Shanks, thanks for picking us up." Luffy says quietly but happily.

 _"We know its Bellamy and Teach who are behind this by the way."_ Franky informs him in a hushed voice. Luffy's eyebrows go up in surprise.

"Really? How'd you guys find out? Never mind, I'll ask you when we get the hell out of this place." The voices are coming closer.

 _"You idiot, your so reckless."_ Nami scolds. Luffy gets emotional when he hears her sniffle.

 _"Hey Luffy, is Ace with you?"_ He hears Marco ask. There's some scuffling on their end.

 _"Or Sabo? Are they okay?"_ Koala asks. Luffy's arm keeps flopping around annoyingly and he's having a hard time holding the phone. Having these powers is really draining.

"Sorry guys, they're not with me at the moment. They are finding the way out." He replied. He manages to straighten his arm and he smirks. Luffy's satisfaction is short lived when he hears the voices clearly coming towards him.

 _'Teach!'_

 _"What do you-"_ Luffy forgets about them for a moment and desperately looks around for a place to hide. Darting his eyes everywhere, he settles for an opening under the desk. Luffy scrambles underneath and curls into a tight ball, not making a sound.

 _"Luffy? Luffy what's wrong?"_ Chopper asks.

"Be quiet." He says softly. They obviously didn't hear him as he could still hear muttering amongst them, so he repeats himself.

"Say nothing and make no noise." That got them to quiet; he couldn't hear a single breath. He was grateful for them to listen. He stiffens slightly when he hears footsteps enter the room. He peeks under the crack of the desk and saw footsteps pacing back and forth. Luffy nearly jumps out of his skin when Teach throws something at a picture, shattering the glass on the floor. He hears a few scientists speaking something urgently to Teach and he immediately leaves the office.

Luffy remains under the desk for a few seconds just to be safe. Judging it was okay; he slowly got up and looked around. When he spotted no one, he released his held breath.

"Okay it's fine now." He informs them relieved they remained quiet. Luffy hears the scuffling resume as they race out of the building.

 _"Are you alright Luffy?"_ Shanks asks calmly, although Luffy can detect the slight tremor in his voice.

"I'm just having troubles holding the phone is all." And he wasn't completely lying; he could barely keep his damn arm straight!

 _"Why would that happe-"_ Luffy flinches as a loud alarm blares through the speakers and red lights flash everywhere. He instantly knows what it's for.

"Shit, they got caught. Well I've got to go, thanks for caring guys. Shishishi."

 _"We'll be there as soon as possible!"_ ViVi says determinedly. Luffy laughs at her sudden toughness.

 _"You better hurry, you might miss all the action! Oh and by the way..."_ He hears a beeping noise as his phone loses the rest of its battery life.

"Oh well, I guess its time to find them." Luffy runs out of the room and in a random direction, hoping that it's the one his brothers took.

 _'I probably should've looked where they were going.'_

* * *

Sabo half carried half dragged Ace through the maze that was this complex. Based on his directions, the exit was right around that corner and down the hallway.

The fire had gotten worse on this portion of the building, licking the walls. Oddly enough, all the doors along the walls had metal doors that protected the contents on the inside.

 _'No doubt storage for drugs.'_ Sabo thought as he passed one.

 _'We should be grateful those things are locked up. Who knows what kind of reaction that would cause if they mixed **AND** caught on fire.'_ Sabo shudders at the catastrophe.

Ace slumped further into Sabo's arms as he stumbled over his own legs for the billionth time. The blood loss and cuff were starting to take its toll.

Sabo lightly smacked Ace's cheeks when his eyes were fluttering closed.

Ace snaps himself out of it for a moment, straightening himself, but quickly trips over his feet once more.

"Hang on Ace we're almost there." As he turns the corner to the home stretch, he hears scuffling behind him. Sabo turns around and swears, there was a scientist who spotted them.

The man shouts something then a loud alarm goes off and Sabo has to resist plugging his ears.

Suddenly men are pouring from the hallway behind him. He can't run he'll never make it in time, especially if he has to lug Ace around.

Sabo is left to wonder how he's going to get out of this situation.

 **SEllen23: Thank you! I really appreciate your review!**

 **If you drop a review out on your way out I appreciate it!**

 _Next time: One has freedom while the others fight for theirs._

 _~See ya next week!_


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 22**

 **This was the chapter I was stuck on for 3 weeks. Guess it was hard to write.**

 **Still not done last chapter….**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Sabo looked at the incoming scientists in frustration. He was going to have to get rid of them before they escaped this place.

He stuck his arm out in front of him and experimentally made claws grow from his hand.

 _'Good! I've still got my powers!'_ He thought in satisfaction. He shuffles to the side and is about to sit Ace up against the wall but a hand stops him. Sabo raised a questioning brow at his brother.

"I...I can stand by myself. I don't need to sit." Ace said semi-frustrated. Sabo could go on and on how Ace should be resting and how he absolutely _cannot_ stand, but chose against it. He had no time for arguing, so he left Ace standing alone on wobbly legs and turned towards the scientists.

He let out a battle howl as he shifted into a wolf and sprang towards them, fangs bared. He landed on the first square on and caught his throat in his teeth. He whipped his head to the side and threw the man into the fire.

Sabo then bit the next one on the leg and pulled him to the ground where he scratched all over his stomach. He yelped in surprise when one of them shot at his head but it only grazed his perked ears.

He immediately switched targets and went for that man but was struck down with a heavy boot. Sabo scrambled out of the way just as he was about to be sliced with a long knife. He backed up a few feet to give himself a bit of distance and analyzed his opponents.

There were still a lot of them, maybe ten left. He had taken down two and they looked like they weren't getting back up soon. They were all holding their guns out threateningly, waiting for him to make the first move.

Unfortunately all the wounds he had were starting to ooze and burn. His breaths were uneven as he struggles to maintain his form. Sabo could not afford to change back to human, then all his weaknesses would all flood together and it would be over.

So when a man raises his pistol to shoot him, he springs forward at impossible speed and bites his arm before he even pulls the trigger. The man howls in pain and pulls away, clutching his arm.

Sabo resumes fighting with utmost ferocity despite his lowly condition. It's an even battle; both sides are gaining quite a few wounds.

Ace looks on from the sidelines, witnessing his brother being hurt in front of his eyes. Sabo's condition was depleting, he could tell from the sluggish dodges that became more and more apparent.

Ace takes a deep breath and wills his shaking legs to move. He lets out a battle cry himself and manages to jog towards the fight.

Suddenly a large explosion goes off and the building shook for a moment before turning back to normal. Ace desperately looks past the scientists towards the source of the explosion.

Luffy was still deep in the building. Sabo snaps his head past the scientists and yells Luffy's name.

Fuck this exhaustion; Ace was about to run straight for his brother when a growl stopped him. He glared at Sabo, which was returned.

"What are you doing?!" Sabo yelled in his wolf form. "Get out! Go call for help-" he stopped talking to dodge a blow from a scientist.

"What?! No way Sabo! I can't lea-"

"GO!" Ace stands bewildered on the spot. Sabo's eyes glistened with tears as he stared at him with the widest most heartbreaking eyes Ace ever saw. Ace understood that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible, but...

"I'll handle it Ace! We promised each other we wouldn't die right?" Sabo said then bit a man on the leg. Ace helplessly looked at his older brother before turning around and running with a tch.

Ace was about to push the door open when a bullet whizzed by his ear.

"Stay away!" Sabo growled out as he sprung on the man. Ace remained by the door, transfixed on the battle in front of him. All he could hear were some growls and insults being tossed back and forth.

"Damn it Ace, **RUN**!" Sabo gave one last howl. With tears in his eyes he let out a frustrated cry and blasts the doors open. The fresh air hits him immediately, rolling off his hair and body in waves.

Taking no notice of it, Ace bursts onto the flat plain in front of him and sprints at full speed, exhaustion forgotten.

He looks at his surroundings, arm hanging uselessly. Ace registers the forest in front of him and runs blindly into the dark woods under the cloudy night sky.

* * *

Luffy coughed for the billionth time under the heavy smoke. He came across two different hallways and took the one that was the least engulfed in flames.

He wiped the tears that gathered from the intense heat and strains his ears for any indication of his brother's whereabouts. Luffy sprints down the hallway, only pausing occasionally to quench flames in his way.

 _'Where's the damn exit!'_ He grits his teeth as he navigates the hallways.

 _'Maybe they're already outside, waiting with the firefighters and cops. Maybe they're already safe, with doctors fixing their injuries.'_ Is what he'd like to think. But judging by the worsening inferno, no one came for them yet. He thought of his friends coming and wished them to hurry up.

 _'Maybe we're out of town. I have no idea where this building is, so it could be in the middle of nowhere. Since there's only one floor, it won't be easy to spot...'_

Getting desperate, Luffy started flinging doors open hoping to see trees or get a blast of fresh air. But to no avail, all that was behind the doors were storage rooms stocked full of drugs.

"Damn!" Luffy yells to no one when he opens yet another stockroom.

"Where's the exit?!" He left the door open and headed towards another passage of hallways.

However after he took only a few steps, the flames licked the inside of the storeroom and the drugs caught flame, all simultaneously exploding.

Luffy was thrown forward and he smacked his head off the floor with a thump. The atmosphere was already ten times hotter with the additional flames caused by the reaction.

Luffy forces his eyes open despite the exhaustion dragging him down and the searing pain on his back. He musters all the strength he has and extends his hand. With his remaining willpower, he tries to force some water from his hand to quell the fire around him.

To his dismay, only a small squirt left his hand and then it was dry. The wound on Luffy's back made itself known and he spasmed once before collapsing back on the ground.

 _'Should I just stay like this?'_ He thought wearily. He could hardly get enough oxygen to make his brain function properly. His position was somewhat comfortable and he didn't want to move. He felt all his worries start to slip away as his vision went dark.

Something wet poking his face made him come back into awareness. He creaks his eyes open and registers something black and small that kept nudging his face.

When he hears a small whine he opens his eyes further to a large blonde and white wolf with a sad glint in its eyes despite its neutral animal face expression.

"Sa...bo." Luffy croaks out. Sabo visibly perks up when he hears his brother speak.

"Where... Ace?" He asks. Sabo sits back on his haunches and starts to shift. When he was finally back into human form, Sabo grabbed Luffy from under his stomach and crawled along the ground for better breathing.

"He got out, he's getting help." He replied with slight relief. Luffy too felt relieved, then he noticed the dark red splotches littering Sabo's body.

"I had to deal with guards. But don't worry, I took care of him." Sabo reassured him as if he knew what his brother was thinking.

Sabo loosened his grip when Luffy struggled out of his arm. Taking the hint, Sabo took the lead while Luffy crawled along. Sabo guides them through the maze of hallways until they reached the one with the exit.

"C'mon Luffy, the outside is right there." said Sabo. Luffy just nods but it turns into a scream when a boot lands square on his back. Sabo yells Luffy's name and glares at the figure hurting his little brother.

There was Bellamy, with a crazed look in his eyes as he stared at the brothers. Small tufts of flame were burning through his clothes and his hair, making him look even more intimidating.

Bellamy curls his face up in disgust and he swings his other leg to hit Sabo right in the nose. He's knocked back and he clutches his now bleeding nose.

Then Bellamy turns his attention to Luffy and kicks him hard in the stomach. With a yelp he's sent back until he lands next to Sabo, sprawled out on the ground.

Sabo musters his strength and conjures up fangs and claws. He pushes himself off the ground and stands up, swaying slightly.

He bares his fangs at Bellamy and lashes out his hand. Bellamy barely moves in time and earns a cut at the side of his cheek. Feeling infuriated, he retaliates by swinging a large fist.

Sabo swiftly moves aside and strikes Bellamy once again with his sharp claws. Blood instantly flows from his face and he screams. Bellamy reels backward while clutching his face and Sabo wastes no time socking him in the face.

Bellamy falls on the ground without a sound. Blood pools from his face onto the floor in a silent river. Sabo glares at him, waiting for Bellamy to get up but he never does.

With one last glance, Sabo turns around to help Luffy who is already pushing himself off the ground and leaning on the wall for support.

"Well let's-"

"WATCH OUT!" Luffy screams, eyes wide. Sabo didn't have time to react when a hand grabbed the side of his head and slammed it hard against the wall beside him.

Sabo falls to the ground out cold.

* * *

Luffy stares in horror at Teach who cracking his knuckles and glaring at Sabo's form in disgust.

Shaking his head out of his stupor, Luffy runs towards Sabo to check if he was okay.

"Sabo? Sabo! Wake up! Can you hear me?" He asks, shaking his brother lightly. Luffy yelps as a hand closes around his neck.

As Luffy is being picked up off the ground, he launches his best effort of a punch toward Teach's face. Teach quickly moves his head out of the way and grabs the extended arm.

"So that's how you brats got out huh? Pretended to loose your abilities then used 'em to get out." Teach let Luffy's arm snap back and he brought Luffy's face in front of his own.

"I do not appreciate being tricked." He hissed. Luffy struggles in the iron grip as the man glowers at his face.

"You ruined everything! Years of hard work just burning away! I'm going to kill you and your brothers slowly by ripping off your limbs, one by one."He threatens as he squeezes Luffy's neck further.

Desperate, Luffy sticks his hand out and tries to shoot a water gun at Teach but only a thin stream of water comes out.

Blackbeard looks at Luffy's hand in bewilderment before a wicked grin settles over his face. His smile quickly turns into boisterous laughter.

"I've done it! I've finally made a successful combo drug that functions properly! It's a miracle!" Teach says gleefully while loosening his grip on Luffy's throat.

"Zehahahaha now you're the perfect evidence of my success to show to that damn company and your bastard father." Teach squeezed Luffy's neck once again and Luffy can hardly keep his eyes open.

Just as he's about to lose consciousness, a scream of pain pulls him into awareness. Sabo had jumped onto Teach's back in wolf form and is now biting his neck.

"Let go of Luffy!" He screams with a feral and wild look in his eyes. Suddenly Luffy finds himself falling and he lands on the ground with a thud. As soon as he's free he scrambles away and takes deep breaths of the smoke filled air.

Sabo still clings to Teach's neck in hopes of dealing more damage, but he's suddenly flung aside. Sabo hits the wall and immediately shifts back to human form with blood all over his mouth and chest.

Luffy crawls over to check on Sabo while Teach rubs the bite marks on his neck. Luffy puts his hands on Sabo's shoulders and shakes them lightly.

"Sabo... please wake up... I don't know what to do..." He says in a watery plea. Sabo opens his eyes and stares at his brother with an incomprehensible expression. His brother suddenly envelops Luffy in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry Lu, I didn't think this would happen." He murmurs in Luffy's ear. A flaming piece of ceiling falls beside them, but they don't care. Luffy shakes his head and chuckles sadly.

"Don't be sorry, your plan was the coolest. It's my fault that I'm too weak and have to depend on you guys." A groan was heard and they turn their heads to a previously unconscious Bellamy. Dread turns in their stomachs as Bellamy and Teach slowly approach the brothers huddled on the ground against the wall.

They could do nothing. Debris tumbled from the ceiling in flaming balls, fire licked the walls surrounding them and the two men in front of them were going to kill them or enslave them again. As they approached, they cast an ominous shadow on the brothers.

Luffy felt himself feel utterly calm despite the circumstances. Everything seemed to turn into slow motion in what he thought was his last moments.

Luffy glanced sideways at the drug lab wide open at the other end of the hallway. It's life or death he thought as he slowly stood up.

"Lu?" Sabo asked confusedly. Luffy ignored his brothers' question and gave a death glare at the evil pair. Bellamy felt a shiver run through his spine at the intensity of the gaze.

Without departing his eyes from the two, he set his legs in a balanced stance and threw his arms behind him.

"Gum gum..." He murmured as his arms grew to triple their length.

"BAZOOKA!" His arms shot forwards at the speed of light and hit his targets straight on, throwing them backwards at similar speed right into the lab behind them.

Luffy could barely register Sabo pulling him down as he saw a blinding flash and a large boom.

 **I uploaded the wrong chapter but fixed it! Oops!**

 ** _Phonenix:_ ANOTHER CLIFF sorry not sorry  & thank you for the compliment!**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Here ya go! Thanks for the review!**

 _Next time: Is that you Ace?_

 _~ When the grass grows_


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 23**

 **Small one, sorry. But I had to separate the craziness. Although, this chapter felt quite satisfying to write.**

 **I FINISHED WRITING THIS STORY! FEELING ACCOMPLISHED AND SAD AT THE SAME TIME**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Ace feels like he's been sprinting for hours on end. He stumbled over yet another branch and continued to run in a straight direction. Or what he thought was a straight direction.

It was pitch black and he could only navigate through the trees by seeing their outlines that glowed in the moonlight.

The forest was utterly silent with the exception of his heavy breathing and the cracking of branches under his bare and bleeding feet.

Ace heard a rumble and took a moment to look back from where he came from. The only thing that he could see was the harsh orange glow coming over the treetops.

He sent a silent plea to his brothers to be safe and continued at a breakneck pace.

 _'How did Teach even find this place? It's in the middle of fucking nowhere!'_ Ace was initially shocked that there were no roads immediately around the building, but instead a vast expanse of forest.

 _'Well I guess if they are going against the law they'll have to hide pretty well.'_

Suddenly, Ace hears a large crack and he stops in his tracks. He stays silent and listens for anything close. When another large crack resounds even closer, Ace starts to panic.

 _'I can't run into a wild animal! I'll be killed and there will be no one to get help!'_ Ace mentally crossed his fingers and takes off faster than before.

 _'Please don't be chasing me, please don't be chasing me!'_ When Ace hears more cracking behind him he increases his speed and hopes not to hit any trees.

As Ace crashes through the bush he sees a clearing up ahead.

 _'Oh no I'll have no cover!'_ But it was too late to stop and he flung straight through the trees. He landed on unsteady legs and immediately brought his good arm to his eyes when headlights blinded him.

* * *

Marco pressed his foot even harder on the accelerator, impatient to reach their destination. Speed limits be damned, he had to find his friends!

Beside him riding shotgun was Shanks with Nami, ViVi and Koala in the backseat.

The rest of the group had all piled into different cars and in the excitement, also took different paths to their destination.

Marco scowled at the sudden pain in his knuckles and looked down to realize he had been gripping the wheel so tight his hands were white.

He eased his grip slightly and saw Shanks looking at him from the corner of his eye. Marco blinked several times then focused his attention back on the road.

Nami holds the GPS in her hands and observes a road that is approaching them.

"A road to the complex is going to come up on the left. Keep an eye out." she informs Marco. They all strain their eyes in the darkness to pick up any signs of a road, but none showed.

"Nami? How close is that road again?" Marco asks a little frustrated.

"I don't get it..." Nami says to herself. "It's supposed to be right here, but there's nothing at all."

"Well I guess Mr. Marsh- I mean Teach wouldn't choose someplace easy to find." ViVi points out.

"Great," Marco grumbles. "We have no idea where it is."

"We don't exactly not know where it is, the building must be around here somewhere." says Shanks.

"We don't have time to guess!" Marco snaps and punches the wheel. The whole truck sits in a shocked silence at Marco's outburst. He was usually the calm one, even when they found the arm he showed hardly any emotion.

Right now Marco's shoulders were hunched and his eyes were glazed with grief. Shanks sighed and put a reassuring hand on his arm.

"You don't have to take this all on yourself you know. We're all taking responsibility." Marco shakes his head and chuckles bitterly.

"No, Ace is my best friend and responsibility. I noticed something weird about Ace but he convinced me to keep my mouth shut. He's like a little brother to me, him and Thatch, but Thatch is the immature one while I'm the oldest who has to put them in their places. It's my fault for ignoring Ace's avoiding behavior, I'm such an _idiot_!" He's about to smack his head on the wheel when a hand stops him.

"Marco, whatever you may think, this is not your fault. Hitting yourself over this is doing nothing but making everyone worry about you. I'm sure you would want to go back in time and change your actions but you can't, what happened has happened and we can only deal with it as it comes along." The girls in the back feel pity for Marco well up in their stomachs. He took on the role of leader and was good at it, but they were all unaware of the inner turmoil that he held inside.

Marco sighs deeply and accepts what Shanks told him. He still wasn't happy with himself, but the words helped him sit a little straighter. Shanks lips quirk in a smile and he sits back.

"Anymore possible entrances?" He asks. Koala looks at the GPS and shakes her head exasperatedly.

"No, that was the only possible entrance. Everywhere else is surrounded by deep woods." She replies. Koala feels a tap on her arm and looks at Nami.

"What is it?" she asks. Nami squints then points to something in the distance.

"Does anyone know what that orange light is?" Everyone looks to where Nami is pointing and analyze the strange light over the tree line and in the distant woods.

"Is it a forest fire?" Vivi asks curiously. Marco doesn't take his eyes off the road as it has suddenly become hard to see in the darkness.

"Shit." He swears as he leans forward to see the road better.

Suddenly he sees movement off to the side up ahead and he squints to make it out. The thing seems to be very fast and Marco is slightly distracted by it until it happens to jump straight in front of him.

Everyone screams as he slams on the breaks and they lurch forward before coming to a full stop.

They are all in shock and then finally register the figure wobbling in front of their vehicle. It's a teenager, near his adult years. He had bruises and cuts' littering his body and his skin was as pale as a ghost. Said skin was clinging painfully to his clearly shown ribs and he seemed to have many burns on his hands and arms.

Right now he had a wild look in his eyes. One arm was held up across his face to block out the harsh light while the other hung limply to his side, bleeding profoundly from the shoulder.

The man finally brings his arm down but keeps squinting. He suddenly starts yelling at them for help. The man felt hope and an overwhelming sense of relief overtake him.

The people in the truck sit in silence, analyzing the figure.

"...Ace?" Everyone turns to Marco who spoke too quietly for anyone to hear.

"What Marco?" Shanks asks.

"It's Ace. It's him." He gasps out. The rest all gasp but Marco is already running out of the truck.

Ace, still having a hard time seeing, can't recognize the person coming out of the truck.

"Please! There's my-" he's cut off when he's enveloped in a tight embrace.

"Your alive... damn you for making me worry...thank god!" He hears the tall man mumble into his shoulder. Ace blinks incomprehensibly and then suddenly recognizes the odd haircut.

"Marco? I-is that you?" he asks, voice laced in disbelief. Marco sniffs.

"That's right buddy, we found you." Ace has tears welling up from those words and he returns the hug.

"I'm sorry for being such a dick before I left. It's just with all that was going on-"

"It's alright Ace. I know about everything, you don't have to apologize." Ace smiles into Marco's neck and holds his friend tight. Marco squeezes him tighter and they remain like this for a while, enjoying each other's company in silence.

After a few moments they pull away and Ace hastily wipes his tears but he still has a wide smile on his face.

"We need to get you to the hospital, I have a feeling it's only your adrenaline that's keeping you awake." Marco feels slight anger at Ace's state as he flicks his gaze all over Ace's body. Koala approaches Ace and wraps his numb arm with a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding. She steps in front of him with an angry expression on her face. Ace braces for the hit he knew was about to come, but relaxed when she tackled him in a hug instead.

"You idiot! Don't make me this scared ever again! That's goes for Sabo and Luffy too!" She says blubbering into his bare chest. Ace puts a soft hand on her head and hugs her back.

"C'mon, let's get you fixed up." Marco says, urging him towards the truck. Ace digs his heels in the ground and shrugs Marco's hand off of his shoulder.

"I'm fine, I can't just leave now. By the way, how did you guys find me?" Marco looked slightly annoyed at Ace's objection so Nami stepped forward to answer.

"Luffy called and told us where you guys were." ViVi nodded and stepped beside her friend.

"You have no idea how great it was to hear his voice." She said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Wow, that little shit actually did it..." Ace laughs.

"Did what?" Koala asks.

"We came up with this plan, you see. It went a little awry and we had to leave early. Luffy, though decided to stay back and look for a phone to call for help..." Ace trailed off and kicked a stone. "Looks like he found one but, there was this big explosion and I left before I knew he was okay." He says disgusted. Marco grips Ace's shoulders and looks straight at him.

"Ace? Hey, look at me. Do you know for sure if Luffy's hurt?" Ace sighs deeply and turns his head away.

"Well, none of us are really un-hurt." everyone flinches at those words. "But Sabo promised me he would save Luffy, so I'm going to have to trust him." Marco smiles at his words.

Suddenly the truck door slams and Shanks walks towards them with a cellphone in hand.

"I called the others and told them what happened. They should be here soon."

 _'Shanks? What's he doing here?'_ Ace wonders. Sensing Ace's confusion, Shanks walks up to him and pats his back.

"Glad to see you're alive Ace. Your friends confided in Edward and I so we helped them find you." Ace felt grateful that everyone cared enough to save an idiot like himself.

"Thank you Shanks, you have no idea how much that means to us."

"Anything for my favorite boys. Now then, can you tell us where your brothers are-" Shanks is cut off when the once dim orange sky exploded and expanded into a glowing yellow.

Everyone is transfixed on the explosion and regards it with curiosity. Ace however, cannot hide the horror that takes over his features.

"SABO! LUFFY!" He screams at the top of his lungs. Ignoring the protests of his friends, Ace sprints back into the woods towards the explosion.

"Ace! Wait!" Marco calls as he follows Ace into the forest. The rest are about to follow them when Mr. Newgate's van pulls up with Chopper, Robin, Brook and Sanji inside with him. Mr. Newgate gets out of the car and lumbers toward them.

"We saw what happened. Some people go after them while the rest stay here to alert the police where to go." He directs them. "Don't worry, we'll catch up real soon."

 **BIG THANKS to the people who followed this story!**

 ** _phonenix:_ I apologize for being a j*** but its in my nature~**

 ** _SEllen23:_ Thank you! I'm thinking of uploading two chapters in one week actually…**

 _Next time: and then there were two._

 _~When the snow falls_


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 24**

 **Please don't kill me**

(Merry late christmas...)

 **DISCLAIMER**

Marco crashed through branches and bushes chasing Ace. Ace was several paces ahead of him, dodging all obstacles with ease due to his rock hard perseverance.

Marco heard the crashing and cursing of his friends behind him. He could identify several new voices and realized that the others had caught up with him.

As he ducked out of the way of another branch, he could feel the temperature rising with each step he took. He also noticed how easier it was to see around him with the bright orange glow emanating through the forest.

Ace couldn't push down the panic rising in his stomach the closer he got to the complex. He had no idea how his brothers could have escaped, much less survived.

 _'But I'll save them.'_ He thought with conviction. _'I won't stop until their both standing beside me.'_

He hears the yells from Marco and his friends behind him, calling him back. Ace clicked his tongue in mild annoyance, their shouts would only fall to deaf ears and they knew that.

The sound of another small explosion startled Ace and he tripped over a root. Before he could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind and steadied him.

He turned around and his brown eyes met pissed blue ones.

"What do you think your doing-yoi?" Marco said annoyed. Ace pulled away and smoothed his hair back, hoping to get rid of some of the embarrassment he felt.

"I just tripped, and why did you stop me? I've got to go help them!" Ace shouted, his embarrassment turning into frustration. Marco lifted a hand to cuff him, but put it back down when he noticed the teen flinch.

"Ace, I completely understand that you want to do this. But what are you going to do when you get there-yoi? Run into the inferno and collapse within the first two seconds your in there?" Marco asks. Ace had his head down and his bangs are ominously covering his forehead and eyes.

Marco jumps back in surprise when they expose eyes filled with such pure anger and anguish.

"What are you suggesting exactly? I am _not_ going to just go back to the van while my brothers are most likely dead. Why the fuck would I not go running as fast as I can to save them? Don't you get it Marco? If they're dead, _I'm dead._ " Marco stares at Ace with a stunned expression and realizes he made a mistake. If he were in Ace's place he wouldn't even hesitate to rescue his friends, no matter what the sacrifice. Marco sighs deeply and jogs up ahead.

"What are you doing?" Ace asks as he jogs next to him.

"Getting you to your brothers." He states simply. Ace blinks in bewilderment then looks ahead with a ghost of a smile.

"Thanks." He says almost inaudibly, but Marco heard him.

"Anything for you." So they speed on through the undergrowth faster than ever. Ace silently hoped he was going on the same path as he took before.

Behind them their friends seemed to have caught up and after a swift look from Marco, they all complied and did not protest Ace's actions.

Ace's head suddenly perked up when he could make out the flat plain that stretched out in front of the building.

With new vigor, he sprinted past the group and into the vast stretch of land in front of him. The sight in front of him was so surreal he actually had to stop to process it all.

In short, it looked like an actual place from hell. The whole building appeared to be engulfed in flames that were growing taller and taller by the second. The roof was collapsing in on itself and once and awhile a small explosion would go off and create a giant cloud of black smoke. The treeless environments around the building made it seem barren and the center of attention.

All Ace can hear is the thump thump of his own heart as he's tearing through the grass towards the burning inferno that held his brothers captive.

He registers his friends' hands pulling him back, preventing him from running in, but he can barely feel them. Ace pulls himself away and they have no choice but to follow him to the entrance.

Ace stops at the double doors he had once used to escape and finds it ironic how much he wants to get back in. He takes a deep breath in and yells as loud as he can.

"SABO! LUFFY! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Silence.

"SABOOO! LUFFY!" Only the crackling of the flames can be heard. Ace shakes his head miserably when he hears a small yell coming from the establishment.

Ace immediately pushes the door open and is met with the familiar musky and blazing atmosphere. He looks down the long hallway and sees Sabo laying on the ground and struggling to get up.

Despite his friends protests he runs head first into the building and to his ailing brother. Marco trails in quickly after him, lifting a hand to prevent the others from coming in.

Marco and Ace run about halfway down the long hallway and dodge falling debris on almost every step they take. They both lift their arms to their mouths to try and filter out the smoke, but it's basically useless.

"Sabo!" Ace yells as he crouched to his ailing brother. Sabo had his face hidden from their view and was gripping his left eye in pain. He was shaking quite a bit so they had a little trouble getting him up on his feet.

Sabo mumbled something through his hands and his shoulders shook a little more.

"He-he I tried to c-cover him b-but we got b-blown apart..." He stuttered quietly. Ace looked down at his brother but couldn't hear what he was saying. Ace assumed the shaking was from the pain and he placed Sabo in Marco's arms.

"Take Sabo out of here while I look for Lu!" He ordered Marco.

"You crazy idiot I can't let you do that by yourself!" Marco shouted back. Ace turned away from Marco with his back facing him.

"Remember what I said in the forest!" Marco stifled another protest and after a brief hesitation, led the injured D out of the building.

He carefully set Sabo on the ground where he merely sat on his knees and continued to clutch his face for dear life.

 _'Koala is going to have a heart attack when she gets here.'_ Marco thought as he noticed that she wasn't present in the current group which included Sanji, Brook, Franky and Robin.

Robin knelt next to the ailing Sabo and put a gentle hand on his arm.

"Sabo, I need to take a look at your eye so you have to remove your hand, okay?" She says in a persuasive voice. His shoulders shake a little more and Robin furrows her brows in worry.

"Sabo?" To their shock, Sabo finally showed his horribly burnt face, which was covered with...tears?

"Please...Lu...I don't know...please if he's alright..." He gasps out as he clutches Robin's shoulders. With that, he passes out and collapses into Robin's arms. Robin sighs and gently pets his head.

"Go on and rest, you deserve it. You all deserve it." She says gazing sympathetically at the blonde.

Marco forces himself to turn around from the scene to Ace, and he noticed that the building was starting to cave faster than usual. He swears under his breath and walks as close to the entrance as possible without getting burnt.

"Ace! This place is going down soon!" He yelled, bringing his hands up to make his voice louder. But Ace paid no attention to him, he was too busy kicking doors open trying to find his little brother. Flaming debris is falling around Ace's feet and he can feel them scorching his already raw soles.

As Ace ran down the center of the hallway, he thought he noticed something up ahead and missed the incoming piece of pipe that fell from the ceiling.

It hits him square on the head and he totters dangerously to the side. Just as he's about to fall on his face, he's caught.

Ace blearily looks up and sees Luffy grinning at him with a bloody face. At any other moment he would have looked like a character from a horror movie, but right now Ace thought it was the best thing he saw all day.

No words were exchanged; they were too tired for that. Instead Ace just smiled back as Luffy balanced him on his feet. They supported each other's weight as they both trudged from the complex.

Their friends are rooting them on from the entrance and keep telling them to hurry up, despite their condition. Luffy flinches to the side when a flame almost burns him and Ace nearly falls to the ground. Luffy weakly pulls him up and Ace barely manages to stand again.

This was, by far, the most exhausting moment of their lives. How they were still breathing was beyond them. But here they were-walking one agonizing step at a time from the hell that held them captive for so long. Luffy bursts into a coughing fit and stumbled a little bit.

 _'If Ace wasn't here I probably would've collapsed ages ago.'_ As Ace started coughing, Luffy assumed it was the same for his brother too.

They both see Sabo behind their friends, unable to move his arms and legs but is leaning on Robin as he yells their names in encouragement,

A clicking sound caught Luffy's attention and he craned his neck around to check the source. What he saw astounded him and brought a slight panic to his stomach.

The clicking sound was a loaded gun, and holding it was none other than Teach. Or what was left of him, the majority of his bottom half was burnt to a crisp from the explosion he was caught up in.

Teach had a maniacal grin and was pointing the weapon at the lab on the far end of the hallway that had not yet lit aflame. The man didn't look like he would last long and this would be his finishing act.

This man wanted to bring them down with him.

Eyes widening, Luffy turned around and urged Ace to run faster just as Teach pulled the trigger.

Immediately, a large flamethrower grew and enveloped Teach almost instantly, but it also headed full speed towards the running brothers.

They both pumped their legs as hard as they possibly could run. Their friends had all scattered from the door and yelled desperately from a distance. They all wanted to run in and get them out, but the flamethrower would easily take them by then.

As they were still a good ten meters away from the exit, Luffy realized they wouldn't make it in time. The flame was coming towards them fast and furiously, leaving nothing but charred debris in its wake.

Luffy looked sideways at Ace, who still had the belief they could escape before it got them. He smiled and admired his brother's badass attitude and bravery for what would be the last time. Luffy looked ahead at Sabo's horrified expression, as he knew what would come. He felt a warm glow of pride well in his stomach at how smart his brother was, and hoped it would take him far.

Still smiling, Luffy pushed Ace in front of him as he slung his rubber arms a little ways back. Ace looked at his brother confusedly before he was jolted forward at an alarming speed. Luffy pushed Ace through the door with his rubber powers and into the safety of the outdoors while he remained in the building.

Luffy felt an overwhelming sense of relief. His brothers were safe and had escaped. An elephant had been lifted off his chest and he felt like he could breathe again, even through the suffocating smoke.

Ace got up off the ground and him and Sabo look on in horror and scream their brother's name in vain. The crew joins in the chorus of desperate calls and Luffy feels a tear slip down his cheek. His rubber powers were gone; he could not stretch forward and out any longer.

Not bothering to run anymore, Luffy halts and everyone's breaths hitch in their throats. Luffy inhales deeply and smiles the largest smile he could muster. His eyes were apologetic and glazed with sadness.

"I love you!" Was the last thing he shouts before the flames engulfed him and the building explodes.

 **Thanks to those who followed and faved this story!**

 ** _Phonenix:_ THE QUEEN OF CLIFFHANGERS HAS STRUCK AGAIN AND IT'S A BIGGIE THIS TIME. And I'm quite sad my nature is shitty, but my nature is my nature right?**

 ** _q. feuille7_ : Honestly I was so happy when I heard you marathoned this, I couldn't stop smiling thank you so much for reading! And Burgess doesn't tie-in, he's just an extra villain I added in for spice. Sorry if that's disappointing but I do mention what happens to him next chapter.**

 **Cotton Candy Lover- Chopper: I'm so happy this story makes you feel this way! And yes, it is quite weird that it makes you want to do that.**

 _ **IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**_

 **Prepare your tissues next time folks. (Also since next chapter is the last, it is also the last time I will respond to reviews on the story. Ill PM y'all after that.)**

 **Also, pretty sure I mentioned posting an extra chapter but...meh I never keep my promises do I? Sooooooo, I'm going to post the last chapter on _WEDNESDAY!_** If you don't have an account and just look at this story on Sundays do not do so cause it will be posted on _**WEDNESDAY!**_

 _Next time: How can I move on? Last chapter..._

 _~when the jingle bells ring_


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 25**

 **Last chapter...**

 **DISCLAIMER**

Silence was their only company in that moment. Flaming debris and ashes fell to the ground softly, like snow or flower petals on a windy spring day. The flames rising from the rubble should have been more intimidating, but they looked somewhat beautiful curving and twisting in unique patterns.

There was an odd stillness in the atmosphere, like the whole world stopped turning and everybody ceased their own thoughts. Ace and Sabo were on their knees and their eyes were fixated on those beautiful flames. Their mouths were stuck agape and Ace felt like he suddenly forgot who he was in the moment.

 _'Who am I? Who are these people? Why am I here?'_ He thought in monotone confusion. Then suddenly a memory gripped at his heart and ripped it out of his chest.

 _Several Years ago..._

 _(Ace-9, Luffy-6, Sabo-10)_

"Hey stop that!"

"Yeah! Get off of him!" Ace never ceased his task. He gave the kid on the ground another hard kick in the face and swatted away at the kids who tried to pull Ace away from their ailing friend.

Ace glanced away to the small kindergartener who hid behind the wall, holding his pained red cheek. Sniffles were flowing out at a constant stream and he watched Ace with wide eyes.

When another tear fell from the child's face, he kicked twice as hard at the kid below. The boy let out a pained whimper as the money he had been previously holding fell out of his hand and rolled across the pavement.

The kid Ace was currently beating up had stolen that money from the unsuspecting kindergartener. The older had been violent about it, Ace had watched as he slapped the kid across the face when he refused.

When the child dropped the money and ran, something sparked in Ace. The way the kindergartener looked with tears running down his face distinctly reminded him of Luffy.

Ace had immediately confronted the kid, and here they were now. The child was still watching with watery eyes and clutched the brick wall in a vice grip.

"Teacher! Teacher!" One of the groupies shouted and they all fled the scene. However, Ace continued to beat up the kid at his feet and the cold hand on his shoulder only slightly deterred his actions.

Ace made a noise of surprise when the hand yanked him back. _Hard._ He stumbled back and looked up at the angry eyes of a teacher.

"What exactly do you think your doing?" She asked, though she wasn't going to listen anyway.

"This kid-"

"Ouchie!" Ace was cut off when tears started welling up in the boy's eyes.

"I was just playing, but he just started hitting me! It hurts!" He sobbed into the teachers' long skirt. She turns her comforting eyes on the kid to hateful ones on Ace.

"That's not true!" Ace objected. "He stole money from that kid over there! See..." Ace gestured to the child's hiding place, but to his dismay, there wasn't anyone there.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. They should have you permanently locked up inside your so dangerous." She complains. The teacher suddenly kneels eye level to the sniffling child.

"What's your name sweetie?" She asks softly.

"Mo-*sniff*-Momonosuke." He says cutely. Ace tries not to gag at his fake ness.

"Come on Momonosuke. Let's get you cleaned up." She picked him up and he immediately nuzzled into her large chest. The teacher, oblivious to the boy's ill intentions, grabbed Ace hard by the wrist.

"And you, Ace, will accompany us to the principal's office where we will have a word with your parents."

 _'I don't have any parents, you hag!'_ Ace wanted to shout, but settled on trying to pull his wrist out of her grip.

Ace stumbled as she tugged harshly on his arm and forced him onward.

* * *

 _(still flashback)_

Ace had gone home early that day. After the awkward silence when the teacher discovered he didn't, in fact, have any parents, Ace just wanted to curl up in the furthest corner of the room and shut out the world.

It was embarrassing whenever someone brought it up, it was just another excuse to the teachers on why he was such a bad kid. He never was listened to, they all assumed he did bad things without meaning.

They were wrong. Well, sometimes. He never really did things without a reason. It was either because his victims had done something bad to someone he cared about, or to himself.

Since Dadan was at work, she told them to let Ace walk home. They were reluctant, but finally let him go. Ace was more than happy to leave that horrendous place behind and practically skipped out of the building. As he walked past the playground he saw movement at the corner of his eye.

Ace barely paused when Momonosuke and his crew all came up to the gate that separated Ace from them. Ace just wanted to get home so he sped up his walk, hoping they'd leave him alone.

"Hey you!" No luck. Ace heaved a large sigh and turned to face the bruised and bandaged face of Momonosuke.

"I guess I'm not surprised your leaving early. Did you get expelled _again?_ " Momo sneered. The rest of the group snickers. Ace keeps his straight face and tries to retain himself from spitting on the kids face.

"Black and blue, those bruises do wonders for your complexion! But I don't think that they will cure the ugly that is your face." He retorts. Momonosuke seethes in rage and steps closer to Ace.

"You think your so hot shot eh Ace?" He taunts. Ace has had enough and walks away, but Momo isn't done yet.

"Your so useless! All your good for is beating people up!" Keep walking Ace.

"Yeah! No one even likes you!" The group is encouraged by Momonosuke's confidence and joins in.

"You're just a coward that doesn't have a life!"

"Fall off a bridge and die already!"

"No, get hit by a truck on a way home!"

"Your family must hate you!" Ace stiffened at that comment and his eyes widened. Suddenly, the bell rang and all the kids retreated into the school. Just when Ace thought they were gone, he heard one last thing.

"You're a monster." Ace stopped walking and looked back at Momonosuke with the harshest glare he could muster. Momo actually looked slightly intimidated and stumbled after his friends.

Finally left alone, Ace trudged home and felt the weight of the words slowly press into his back. He unlocks the door with an emotionless face and steps into the dark house.

When he kicks his shoes off, he pauses and looks around. The darkness and silence seemed to clog his senses. Thinking he's crazy, he shakes his head and throws his backpack across the hallway then proceeds to walk into the kitchen.

He didn't grab a snack like he usually does, and he finds that odd. Ace doesn't feel very hungry; his stomach feels tight for some reason. Instead he walks into the living room and falls on the couch face first.

Ace almost let out a groan when he realized he would have to go back to school and pick Luffy up. The kid would be lost and scared without him there.

 _'Or would he?'_ A tiny voice at the back of his head said.

 _'You're only a nuisance to your brothers. They probably put up with you because they have to.'_ Ace growled at the thoughts that wouldn't stop.

 _'After all...'_ Ace grabbed his hair and pulled at it.

 _'...you're a monster.'_ He yelled in frustration and punched the pillow hard. Ace continued to let his frustrations out on the pillow until he grew exhausted and fell asleep on the couch.

Ace woke up with a start, feeling worse than before. He grouchily pushed himself up on his arms and peered at the clock on the wall.

2:20. He's got ten minutes until he had to leave. Ace grumbled and closed his eyes again. He didn't sleep again, but remained in a state of semi consciousness.

No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the thought of his brothers hating him.

 _'It makes sense._ ' He thought. _'Have I given them any reason to like me?'_ All Sabo does is scold him for getting in trouble and Ace always yells at Luffy for being a troublesome kid. Ace felt a prick to the heart at the thought. He loved his brothers to death, and they may not love him back.

Ace looked over at the clock and noticed that twenty minutes had gone by. He numbly gets up and trudges to the door. He was going to get his brother and even if Luffy didn't love him, that sure as hell didn't mean Ace was going to stop loving Luffy.

Ace took his time, feeling somewhat reluctant to enter the school. He kicked himself for feeling that way. Why did he feel like this!?

 _'Your family must hate you.'_ Their words echoed in his brain. Ace stuffed his hands in his pockets and held his head low as he approached the entrance to the school.

As soon as he pushed the door open, the teachers in the office turned their heads towards him. The secretary immediately came out of the office and stepped in his path.

"Ace, what are you doing here? You've been suspended for the rest of the day." She asks sternly. Ace narrowed his eyes and tries to step around her, but she blocks the way again. The teacher who busted him earlier that day steps up.

"Yes Ace, you aren't supposed to be here. I never thought you'd go so far as to _come back_ to start trouble." Ace frowns at them.

"I didn't come to start trouble." He says, barely suppressing his rage. "I'm here to-" He's cut off when the teacher starts shooing him away.

"I don't care; all I know is that you're not supposed to be here. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Ace steps around her and tries to run ahead but she grabs the back of his shirt and pulls him back.

"Hey! I'm already late! Move it!" He yells angrily and struggles out of her grip.

"Late? Your late for nothing. All you do is cause trouble and now is no different." Ace flinches. "I honestly didn't know how you could get in more trouble, but now I know. Deliberately coming to school to pick a fight? You are a very troubled child-"

"Ace-nii!" She and the secretary jump out of the way when a child launches himself at Ace. Ace, already used to this, caught Luffy in a hug and managed to keep his balance.

"Ace-nii!" Luffy yells again. Then he looks up at Ace with eyes positively shining with love and trust. Right then, Ace's doubts completely slipped from his head.

"Hi Lu! How was school?" He asked, kneeling down to Luffy's eye level. Luffy puffed his cheeks out in anger, but Ace only chuckled at the cuteness of it.

"I waited for you but I couldn't find you! So I left and looked all over and then I got lost and then I went over here and then I found you! Why weren't you there Ace?" He asked, puffing his cheeks out more.

"Well Luffy, I think you should ask these ladies right here. So, Mrs, why wasn't I there?" He asks slyly. The teacher blinks in bewilderment when Luffy turns his big adorable gaze on her.

"U-um it's nothing, just go home with your... brother." She says tentatively, shooting nervous glances at the secretary.

"Okay lady! Hey Ace can you give me a piggy back ride home? Please please please?" Luffy begs as he grabs Aces shirt while jumping up and down. Ace kneels down in silent acceptance and Luffy happily clambers on his back.

"Shall we go now Lu?" He asks while standing up.

"Yeah! But hurry I'm hungry!" Luffy complains while hooking his arms securely around Ace's neck.

"Alright. Say goodbye to the nice teachers' Lu." He says looking directly at the two females.

"Okay!" Luffy does his signature face splitting grin and waves at them exaggeratedly.

"Bye teacher ladies! But I'm not going to forgive you for not letting me see Ace!" He added in. The teachers looked guiltily aside and shyly waved back.

Ace internally snickers at their behavior; people tend to act like that when they first meet Luffy. Although, he feels a bit of satisfaction when he sees the look of guilt in their faces.

Ace turns around and walks out of the school with Luffy saying: "Mush! Mush! Faster horsey!" The entire way off the property.

On the way back Luffy rambled on about his day like usual, but this time Ace didn't seem to listen to the details. His thoughts were still bothering him.

"Hey Lu?" Luffy stopped talking immediately at Ace's tone of voice.

"Hm?"

"You don't think I'm a monster, do you?"

"No!"

"And you like having me around?"

"Of course!"

"...do you want me to live?" There was a pause and Ace's heart thumped painfully in his chest. But instead of speaking, Luffy surprised him by crawling off Ace's back and running around to look him straight in the eye.

"I want Ace to live! Me and Sabo would be all alone! I love my nii-chan so promise me you won't die!" He shouted, putting his hands on his hips.

Tears were building in his eyes and he couldn't hold back from squeezing Luffy tight.

"Fine, I promise not to die. But only if _you_ promise to never die. I don't think I'll be able to live without your annoying smile around."Luffy looks up from Ace's chest and smiles broadly.

"Deal!"

 _Flashback over_

 _'Luffy.'_ It all comes back to him and he's all Ace can think about. He starts shaking and releases a heart breaking caterwaul from his tight throat.

Set off by Ace's reaction, Sabo curls in on himself and punches the ground repeatedly while yelling: "Its not fair! You promised! You promised we would all be free! We were all supposed to live!"

Ace moans loudly and semi falls to the side, overcome with grief. There was nothing they craved more than to see that warm smile once more.

Luffy's last words haunt their brains and they try to hold on to his voice in their memories, afraid they would forget. Ace shook his head in denial.

"Luffy! I'm sorry I yelled at you! I'll give you all the meat in the world if you just come back! I don't care if your annoying! You're my little brother and I want you back so please! _Please!_ " Only the crackling of flames greeted his outcry and he sunk to the ground sobbing.

"Yeah Luffy! I'll even let you drive my car! I don't fucking care just come back Luffy! Come back!" Sabo shouted, his voice watery and chocked with tears.

The group behind them were sniffling and sobbing all at once. But hearing their friends in pain made the ache in their chest grow.

Robin held her head in a hand and turned away. Her usual calm demeanor was shattered at their leaders death. Tears slipped down her cheeks and her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

She jumped a little bit when Sanji pulled her into a hug and held her close. Grateful for the contact, she gripped onto his jacket and said nothing as she cried into his shoulder. Sanji was silent, but she would be lying if she said she didn't hear the small hiccups from his body.

Brook and Franky were both crying openly for their lost friend. How were they going to tell the rest? The thought made their heart shatter even further than before.

Apparently they didn't have to, as seconds later police sirens were heard and sixteen police cars filed into the clearing along with the rest of the crew.

They all immediately jumped out of their cars and looked around for their friends that went ahead. Vivi glanced around until she saw them, Ace and Sabo on the ground while the rest shook where they stood.

She along with the rest run towards them and suddenly a heart wrenching sob came from Ace.

"Sabo! Thank goodness your alive!" Koala said crying and ran to him. "Sabo? Sabo what's wrong?!" He only cried harder and Koala falls to the ground and hugs him to her chest.

Vivi looked around them, trying to spot him but failed to. Realization hit her like a bitch.

"Luffy's not here."

That one statement made everyone quiet down and the brothers cry harder. The flashing lights are suddenly around them as the world turns in slow motion.

Marco and Thatch are by Ace, yelling him words of comfort and hugging him to their chests. Ace just sinks in their arms, numb to the world around him and only feeling grief.

ViVi doesn't cry. The moment just seems so surreal that she has a hard time grasping it. The only thing indicating her sadness is the water that keeps dripping down her face to the ground in an endless stream.

All of Luffy's friends offer comfort to one another, heavily shaken from the death of their closest and dearest friend.

"How could...? He's such a happy guy... Why? Why did this have to happen to him?!" Chopper cried out and Nami hugged him close while shaking her head sobbing.

Shanks and Coach Newgate stand off to the side, observing the group of kids and the policemen calling the fire department. Shanks has tears slipping down his face and he makes no move to wipe them away.

"This world is cruel Edward." Coach Newgate only nods while gazing solemnly at the ground.

It only takes a few minutes for the fire department and ambulance to arrive to take care of the situation.

Sabo and Ace, who had fallen unconscious a long time ago, were carried off in ambulances after it was determined their conditions were very dire. Marco, Thatch, Koala and Chopper hitched a ride in the ambulance not wanting to part with their friends. Chopper remained on the ambulance to check on their conditions and offer some assistance to distract himself from Luffy's death.

The rest remained long after the flames had died down to black rubble and ash. The police asked standard questions and they had to confess their own hand in the investigation. The policemen were actually quite impressed they figured it out on their own and let them off while saying their condolences.

The firemen were washing the last of the flames away when Usopp notices something resting on the ground not too far from the building. He approaches it slowly, clumsily avoiding the charred pieces of debris that littered the ground. But it wasn't just a piece of black debris he was looking at, this thing had color.

More like sunshine yellow to be precise. Usopp tears up and picks Luffy's straw hat up from off the ground. It was burnt a little on the sides, but it was in surprisingly good condition.

Usopp had always thought that this hat was a reflection of Luffy's soul and personality. It was practically radiating with brightness and innocence that it suited no other than his best friend.

"You're not gone are you Luffy?" The debris slips away into a river along with all the drugs and secrets.

"You're right in my hands."

* * *

The stream of debris spins and swirls in the river and deep into the forest.

Animals from the forest are attracted to the objects flowing along the river and give chase. The river ends at a small lake in the middle of a sunlit clearing. The animals pause at the clearing but none actually touch the water. Instead, they remain circled around the pool in silent mourning of the tainted river.

* * *

After thorough examination of the whole scene, the police managed to find bones of Luffy, Teach and Bellamy in the ashes.

It turns out the scientists had rebelled against Teach at the last minute trying to save their own skin. Both injured and not injured scientists were found roaming around the forest lost.

They were all taken in for questioning where they confessed to everything they and Teach had done including research and illegal experiments. The scientists were all charged and sent to prison for life.

Mr. Burgess had no relation to the crimes, but after testimony from Ace and Rebecca, whom decided to step up, he was charged with pedophilia and assault and was sent to prison.

When Garp and Dadan heard about what happened, they grieved for Luffy but were also immensely relieved that Ace and Sabo were alive.

Sabo and Ace were taken to the hospital to be treated from their wounds they received while in captivity. Unfortunately, Ace has a permanent scar on his shoulder and Sabo has a burn scar along his left eye. Luckily the doctors said he would still be able to see out of his left eye since it had miraculously been undamaged.

When the brothers first got to the hospital they were both mentally and physically exhausted. They rested in a coma state for 2 weeks before waking up to their friends tearful and relieved faces.

There was also testing for remnants of the drugs they had taken, but after extensive examination they didn't see any drugs left in their blood stream that could cause long term effects.

After intense medical care and therapy, the brothers left the hospital 3 months later. Though their bodies recovered, their minds didn't.

* * *

Ace could feel the sympathy pressing against him when he walked into the school. Yet, no one approached him. They were afraid to, they didn't know how much it would take for him to have a mental breakdown. So, they settled for pitying looks and stayed out of his way.

Well, he was somewhat happy about that because he was on the verge of falling off that cliff he now teetered over.

It's been over a year since Luffy died, yet it's the same thing every day. The sympathy that rolls off of people never seemed to end nor run out. Maybe he was just a magnet to that kind of stuff without even realizing it.

Ace and Sabo had tried to get over Luffy's death. Their friends and family were super supportive and tried to keep them out of their depressive states.

It wasn't pretty when they woke up. He remembers the complete emptiness he felt when he first opened his eyes. It didn't even feel like he woke up. Ace had just wished it was a figure of his imagination or an illusion from too many drugs.

But he still felt an emptiness in himself where Luffy once was.

He woke up crying and yelling for his brother and heard Sabo had done the same. Ace could see the people crowded around him with tears in their eyes but could not settle down. The only thing that calmed him was the gentle fingers running through his hair and the quiet encouraging words that whispered in his ear.

That happened on and off for about two weeks before Ace noticed that it was actually Marco and Thatch taking turns comforting him.

Sabo had already been awake with Koala at his side, rubbing comforting circles on his back. But there was no mistaking the blank look in his eyes with his mouth hanging slightly agape.

Garp was there through their recovery sessions occasionally with Dadan.

Ace asked him if _Dragon_ (he still refused to acknowledge his real father) had stopped by. Garp just sighed and said he and Roger came by once while they were in a coma, but left soon after.

Well, it wasn't like he had a father in the first place right?

Through rigorous counselling and rehab the hospital tried to make progress on their mental and physical states. Sabo and Ace could tell that everyone was getting exasperated with their slow progress.

But they all didn't know what happened in there. Sure, they told the police of the events that occurred but they had no idea of the pacts made between the brothers. They were just _so sad_ and _guilty all the time._

So instead, Sabo and Ace made an agreement to put up a front and pretend they were getting better. They were never going to get out of there until they lied.

No, I'm not having anymore nightmares.

No, I don't spend every waking minute thinking about my dead brother.

Yes, I said everything that happened while we were kidnapped.

Yes, I'm fine.

The lies seemed to put everyone at ease for the time being. Their 'fast' progress allowed them to leave the hospital after 3 months. Things seemed to be alright for the D brothers in other peoples' eyes. However, after one year their closest friends would catch the sad looks in their eyes and the small moments of despair when they thought no one was looking.

They all hated knowing that their friends were still suffering just to please everyone. Sure, the group were all hurting from their friend's death, but it had been one year and most of their scars were gone.

Ace jerked awake in his seat at the sound of the final bell of the day.

 _'Already?'_ He thought in monotone confusion. ' _Felt like I just got here.'_ Ace slowly got up and packed up his stuff, eager to leave the college full of oppressing looks.

Ace walked out and caught one more pitying smile from his teacher before leaving the classroom behind him. Ace gathered his belongings from his locker and went outside to meet Sabo in the parking lot.

They greeted each other with a subtle nod and jumped into Sabo's blue convertible. It took about 10 minutes to warm up, as it usually does, and then they took off with a spluttering engine towards home.

* * *

Sabo and Ace scanned the disapproving faces around them in bewilderment.

Apparently their friends, Shanks, and Coach Newgate had found the house key because who knows how long they've been in their house.

Luffy's friends were there too. They had all grown close to the brothers after Luffy passed away.

"Hey guys what's up? Marco, Thatch didn't see you guys at school today." Ace said with forced cheeriness. Truth was, he was internally glad they were gone today. He was having a particularity mopey day and didn't want them to see. Thatch's face darkened a little at Ace's voice.

"Waiting here." Thatch replied curtly, his disappointed look not fading. Sabo raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly.

"So are you guys going to tell us why your here? If this is a surprise party, you guys really-"

"You two have been a little off since Luffy died." Zoro says tightly. The group waited for the reaction they always got when Luffy's name was brought up- oh there it was. Sabo looks to the side and shuffles his feet while Ace tries to keep his gaze straight but fails and twitches his eyes to the side occasionally.

"Well, how exactly have we been off?" Ace asks defensively. Koala steps up to Sabo and has an irritated yet worried look.

"Sabo! You don't even care about your car anymore! And what about me? We haven't been out in months! And when I ask you about it you just brush me off like it's no big deal!"

"And you Ace! You didn't even join the football team this year! And don't think we don't see that look you get when are backs are to you." Thatch scolds.

"What look?" Ace snorts.

"The sad one. Guys, your keeping your feelings from us. You're still grieving." Marco says seriously. Ace gulps and takes a moment to gather his bearings.

"Sure we're sad Lu is gone, but we're over it! We've just been a little bit busy lately, that's all!" He protests. Sabo steps up to his brothers defense.

"Yeah! I'm sorry I haven't been hanging around you for awhile Koala, but that doesn't mean you all need to hold an intervention because of it." He adds hastily. Koala looks slightly hurt, and Nami puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We haven't seen you guys cry once since you just arrived in the hospital a year ago." she tells them.

"You may be able to fool others, but not us." Shanks tells them. Ace feels like hitting the wall. What were they talking about? They weren't crying anymore so why do they keep trying to make him?

"We're _not_ -"

"Bullshit!" Thatch yells at him. Ace snaps and punches the counter hard to silence them. They all look at him in shock and Ace looks down, his bangs covering his features.

"Ace," Sabo says warningly, putting a hand on his shoulder. But Ace brushes off the attempt at comfort, he's too pissed.

"Look we're fine, w-we've got to be fine. Or...or everything will fall apart." Ace falters, gazing silently at the straw hat hanging idly on the wall. He takes a deep breath and looks sternly at them.

"Of course we're sad Luffy's dead! But we can handle ourselves, we're pretty much over it already!" Ace reasons, his voice going high. Sabo's heart feels like it's breaking in two, but he tries to keep his emotions inside for the sake of proving their point.

"That's right! Luffy's d-death means n-nothing anymor-" But the sentence was too hard for him to say and he choked off. Ace hears the faltering and his composure waned. Unable to hold back anymore, Coach Newgate envelops them in a tight embrace.

"Boys, it's alright to cry. Holding in your emotions for our sake is ridiculous. You're the ones hurting the most out of us and your so strong to be able to keep face during this past year. Luffy was your little brother, you were supposed to protect him and I understand how that makes his death all the worse. But please don't push him away from your memory and let him become a distant thought. So go ahead, mourn all you want so when someone asks about Luffy you can tell them exactly who he was, how happy he always was, and how proud you are to be his brothers." Silent tears fall from Ace and Sabo's eyes and suddenly they both sob into his large chest and push into his embrace seeking comfort. They cry for a long time, and the group looks on in silence.

They sob for their brother. Missing his smile and his happy-go-lucky attitude. The straw hat he never seemed to leave, and cherished with a passion. Their bundle of joy that they swore to protect and love on their lives.

They sob for the torture they were put through. All those horrible experiments that caused immense pain emotionally and physically. The threats and the constant fear of being killed. Ace's fear that Sabo was dead and his arm hanging from the ceiling.

They sob for their pitiful weakness and guilt. Unable to save Luffy when it was their job. The amount of times they gave up in the fire but Luffy pushed them on. Getting kidnapped so easily and could not fight back.

And finally they sobbed for the pain they felt over the past year. Running away whenever Luffy was mentioned. Putting on fake smiles when people asked if they were alright. Ignoring all those they loved just in case they brought Luffy up.

Ace and Sabo let all their horrible feelings run down in the tears that wouldn't stop flowing. Eventually the tears did run out and they let themselves be held in a big bear hug.

Sabo pulls away first and wipes his wet eyes awkwardly, aware of all the soft smiles directed at him. Ace squeezes Coach Newgate one last time and sniffles, his eyes are puffy and red like Sabo's.

"So..." Zoro breaks the silence and they all turn to him.

"Can I drive your car Sabo?" Sabo looks blankly at him for a minute then snorts.

"No way in hell." The group chuckles and all knew things were going to look up for the brothers, because they had their friends with them.

* * *

 _Years ago, Ace:9 Luffy:6 Sabo:10_

 _(Continuation of chapter 2 childhood)_

 _"So how about it Ace? Wanna give us idiots a shot?" Ace stared at Thatch and Marco debating the offer. They were probably the two boys that hated him the most out of the entire class. Yet, there was something about having friends that made him feel...nice._

 _Ace took a deep breath and gave them a side grin._

 _"Sure!"_

* * *

 _When Ace took Luffy home that day, he seemed much cheerier than usual. Luffy noticed this because Ace actually listened to what he said as he walked. He even let Luffy have a piggy back ride! He hardly ever does that!_

 _"What about you nii-san?" Luffy asked as he put his head on Ace's shoulder._

 _"What about me?" Ace asked confusedly._

 _"Your day! You look really happy today and I wondered if you had fun!" Luffy exclaimed cheerily, swinging his legs back and forth._

 _At first Ace didn't reply, and Luffy wondered if he said something wrong when Ace suddenly chuckled and hoisted Luffy higher._

 _"Yeah... I guess I did. I met some friends today and they seem pretty cool." He said nonchalantly, though he couldn't keep the smile off his face._

 _Luffy gasped and squealed excitedly, prompting Ace to make a sound of discomfort at the noise._

 _"Really?! Ace-nii that's awesome! Friends are great! I want to meet them!" Luffy struggled off of Ace's back and jumped in front of him. Luffy's eyes were stars as he bounded around Ace saying how great friends were._

 _"Friends are important Ace-nii! Because being alone is worse than death!" Luffy tries to say earnestly, but he was too cute to be taken seriously. Ace waves his hands in the air._

 _"Whoa Lu. Don't go talking about death so easily like that." But Luffy knew he was right. He didn't feel like protesting and merely hugged his brother tight._

 _"Jeez you sure are a handful bro." Ace chuckled. Luffy smiled into his brother's chest. Even though Luffy promised not to die, he knew if he ever did Ace would never be alone in this world._

 _Because the world finally realized Ace was not a monster._

 _ **THE END**_

 **Thank you all for your support on this story! It was my first and the amount of feedback I got was beyond what I expected and I can't even voice how happy I am so I would just like to say a big THANK YOU! Also, the amount of views I got on this is beyond what I expected! The views for the story I got when I posted the last chapter went up by FIVE FRISKING HUNDRED! FROM ONE CHAPTER! NOW I HAVE OVER 4800 VIEWS FOR THE STORY BWAAAAHH!**

 **I may but probably will be making a sequel to this, but it won't be anytime soon though sorry. I will put a notification on this story if I do make it though so people can know and read it if they want to.**

 **I have started another story and I would love it if you guys check it out too! It would mean the world to me! I honestly don't know when I will upload it, so just look out for my name on the new stories list!**

 **Again thanks for the support and hope you all enjoyed the story, I loved writing it! It makes me so sad to finish it...**

 **THANKS TO THE AWESOME POSSUMS WHO FAVED, FOLLOWED AND REVIEWED!**

 **q. feuille7: Oh no well, I hope you weren't too sad! But i'm glad you reviewed and I hope the chapter amounted to your expectations!**

 **yukiko hyuga-chan: I honestly feel so happy you read the whole thing straight. I know how awesome it feels to read a nice long fix and it means a lot to me for you to say that. And your hunch was right, Luffy is gone :((**

 **SEllen23: Thanks for reviewing on most of the chapters! You're the best!**

 **phonenix: Well I guess i'm going to hell, sigh. Thanks for all the reviews you've given me despite my crappy nature and I hope you've enjoyed the story!**

 _See you in another fic!~_

 ** _-UnicornsThatGamble_**


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